An Act of Love
by Alexa Flock
Summary: Harry and Alexa begin their quest to stop Voldemort's plans to raise the Chimeras. But they have bigger problems to worry about.
1. Chapter 1

The sun set over the Dark Forest, casting cold, eery glows through the thick canopy. A blanket of mist gathered on the forest floor, signalling the retreat of any animals that dared venture out as the sun went down. Dementors drifted between the tree trunks as if in search of the tiniest morsel of a good memory for them to feed upon. Into the nothingness of darkness they floated, their blackened rags fluttering delicately and their gnarled, decaying fingers grasping at air as they sucked it in through their thin, lipless mouths.

With the Dementors making the way safe, a dark figure strode across the leaf litter on the forest floor, bare white feet kicking through the soil towards a great, thick oak tree that a dense shadow was leaning against. The silence around the two mysterious figures was dense with evil intentions as the full moon shone from behind the clouds and in the distance, a werewolf howled.

"Were you successful?" that malevolent, hissing voice belonging to Lord Voldemort echoed through the clearing. The howling werewolves and scuttling nocturnal creatures instantly grew silent as the cold mist thickened the evil atmosphere.

"Of course," a deep, gravelly voice responded with a small, guttural laugh, "they should think twice before trying to bring them across in the open."

The Dark Lord's white face seemed to emit a pearly glow in the darkness, his lipless mouth baring pointed fangs in what resembled a smile, "you would think so, but they are determined."

The stranger gave another small laugh that was sadistic and evil, "determined they are. It was quite amusing seeing them fight for their lives. Given their strength, they were dispatched unnaturally easily."

"Good," Voldemort replied with a low hiss, "it won't be long before my plan can come to fruition, so renew your efforts again and continue to chip away their hope and defence. The Order is divided over their strategies so they will be easy to overcome."

"Divide and conquer," came the malevolent response, "what of me?"

"Take up your post as directed and keep a close watch on the boy," Voldemort instructed, wincing as the moon cast its rays directly on him through a gap in the trees, "use their friendship to flush her out of the shadows, for she is the one that most interests me now. Deliver her to me and you will be greatly rewarded."

The stranger growled ferociously in ascent, "I will present you gladly with her ashes," he said as he began to shrink back into the shadows.

"I need her alive," Voldemort snapped, "anyone else who crosses your path do not concern me, but she is no good to me dead."

"As you wish," came the response and with that, both figures melted into the darkness, their sinister encounter complete.

The morning was still very new when Harry Potter was awoken from his nightmare. The bedroom window was ajar and all the fresh scents of a new day drifted into the stale, dusty room on the back of a cool breeze.

His panting breath took in great lungfuls of the refreshed oxygen, the pure air numbing the pain that cut through his body as the lightning bolt scar issued its agonising warning.

Reaching up a hand, he rubbed the inflamed skin clear of sweat and calmed himself enough to recollect the images he had seen.

Voldemort had met someone under cover of darkness and that person had told him something. Something bad. They were both pleased and that never bode well.

Deep in his gut, he had known that 'the boy' referred to him, but he was used to being targeted by evil-doers. The woman Voldemort needed alive had to be...

Sitting up, Harry looked straight ahead at the threadbare, faded tapestries hanging from the facing wall, depicting members of the infamous Black family slaughtering beasts in bloodthirsty, gory detail.

Putting on his glasses, he picked a blue scrapbook off the bedside cupboard. Flicking through the pages, his eyes settled on a clipping from the Daily Prophet of yesterday. The headline was bold and haunting, '_Fudge accused of allegiance with Vampires; Minister for Magic slackens migration laws restricting bloodsuckers and fiends_.'

Ever since taking the Order of the Phoenix's advice and freeing the Vampire clans from their restrictions, the Minister had faced tremendous criticism and even though the Vampires posed no threat, the whole of the magical world was up in arms in protest.

The almighty Auror League had even made a public statement that the Vampires were joining the fight against Voldemort - on the rare occasion they ever spoke to the public - but even they could not instill confidence.

Turning the page, his eyes fell on another. '_Alexa Flock insane! Ministry and League officials fear for magical legend's mental health_.'

This one made Harry's blood simmer in rage at the publication of such slander. Of all the people who understood the threat, she was the one who understood it best. The only reason everyone was being so disrespectful was because she had, for a while, returned to her clan for support and guidance and had therefore been absent from office. Harry, himself, hadn't set eyes on her all summer because she was consumed with plans to prevent Voldemort from raising the most dangerous and evil creatures ever to break free of Hell - the Chimeras. The Order hadn't been informed of the immediate threat, only that recruiting the Vampires was the best course of action.

Harry allowed his finger to trace the picture of Alexa that blinked and smiled up at him from the clipping. The pale cheeks, full lips, flint-like eyes as cold as ice, beautiful hair whose colour was denied by the black and white picture.

Why hadn't she contacted him over summer? It was agony knowing that she was out facing danger while he was cooped up at Grimmauld Place, lording over his deceased Godfather's homes and affairs. Not a letter, not a sharp word via fire and no visits. It was driving him mad. Of all the people who would understand his dream it would be her. He yearned to tell her, but he was forbidden to seek her out - absolutely forbidden.

Wide awake and unlikely to get back to sleep given the nature of his waking, Harry slid from his bed and reached for his slippers, shaking the spiders from their temporary nest. Putting them on, he began to move towards the small writing desk beside the window but was halted by a curious sound from the landing. He could swear that he had heard whispers coming from the other side of his door. Creeping over, he pressed his ear to the wood but couldn't hear anything. Grimmauld Place was known for its eeriness in the dead of night and just as he was about to explain the strange noises as probably Kreacher, the Black family's sinister, plotting house elf, he heard it again. Throwing open the door ready to confront the mysterious night-crawler, he was startled to find not Kreacher but Ron and Hermione bent over the railing overlooking the winding stairs.

"What?" he asked as Hermione beckoned him forward but motioned him to be quiet.

"Meeting," Ron replied, wrapping his dressing gown tight around him, "something about Vampire Elders."

Suddenly Hermione brightened and met them with a beautiful smile, "Alexa's back!" Harry was not the only one with a deep fondness for the part-Siren-part-Vampire Auror.

"You may as well come down, kids," that familiar, entrancing voice drifted up the staircase, making them all start with fright at the unexpected address, "I know you're lingering there!"

The three loiterers found themselves momentarily ashamed for their eavesdropping but banished all feelings except exultation at knowing that Alexa Flock had returned from her ventures. Descending the stairs with a clatter, they emerged in the deserted hallway. The much anticipated newcomer had obviously swept down the narrow corridor leading to the gallery kitchen yonder.

Following the scent of her spicy perfume that was mixed with that unusual, salty smell of the Sirens, Harry led the charge and burst in on the meeting as their beloved friend went about her pleasantries.

He waited impatiently as the witch embraced first Arthur and then Molly Weasley, ruffled Fred and George's hair, patted Ginny's shoulder and so on along Tonks, Professor Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody and their other company before greeting Ron, Hermione and then, finally, Harry Potter.

With the most beautiful smile he had ever seen, Alexa opened her arms and embraced him tightly, "Harry Potter!" she exclaimed, "how on Earth have you been?"

He smiled to himself as he returned her embrace, taking in the sweet scent of her hair and how wonderfully warm she was, "lonely, but now you're here."

He felt and heard her regretful sigh, "I'm sorry we haven't spoken at all this holiday," she said, stepping away and fixing him in her powerful gaze, "top, top secret business always keeps you from friends."

Only at the mention of that business did the four strangers lingering in the dark behind Mrs. Weasley draw his attention. They were garbed most strangely in tunics that covered their slight frames, all embossed with ancient symbols and text. They clasped their hands before them in serenity but had fierce expression on their pale, gaunt faces.

All were men who appeared to be very old, with deep lines set into their faces and gleaming silver-white hair dropping to the middle of their backs. On first glance, these men looked like wizened elves, but Harry knew that these creatures were not entirely free from evil.

The kitchen was chilled despite the fire roaring in the hearth and all present in the kitchen seemed to revere these unknown agents. Yet Alexa approached them with warmth and confidence, and to her their expressions warmed a few degrees.

"Friends, may I present the Vampire Elders," she announced with pride. The ancient Vampires bowed their heads at each in the room respectfully, "as you are all aware from the reports in the Prophet, Fudge has relaxed the restrictions placed on our movements, and that means that my Elders can be with us to finalise our plans."

She introduced each in turn. The Chieftan was Vladmiran, eight centuries old and the oldest existing Vampire un-dead; the Vicenta was identified as Samel and was four hundred and fifty years old; then the youngest were Nikol and Borsun, who looked the more meek of the imposing quartet, but their power was not to be scoffed at.

Harry watched them carefully as he would a lion waiting to pounce. For now, they looked peaceful but he did not trust them and neither did the Order.

Hermione tried to quell her trembling while Molly Weasley clutched her husband's arm tightly. Tonks, being an Auror, was familiar with Vampires and their fearsome ways so met their steely stare with her own, and Lupin thought similar, sympathising with them given he was also an outcast creature.

Alexa, however, seemed not to notice her fellows' fear and seemed quite excited to be in the company of her own kind again.

"Vladmiran, this is the boy I wanted you to meet," she announced, ushering the Chieftan in Harry's direction, "Harry Potter."

Vladmiran extended a withered hand and Harry took it, not wanting to offend such a potentially lethal creature, "so this is the boy who crushed Voldemort at his peak!" Vladmiran exclaimed, shaking his hand vigorously, "my gratitude, Mr. Potter, and that of my kind. We all think highly of you and you are always welcome at our table!"

The feel of the old man's hand repulsed him. It was cold as the dead heart in his breast and every bone and vein could be felt through the thin sheet of white skin, "well...thank you," he stuttered, "a great honour." Although he wasn't sure if it was.

"Not at all," the loud, imposing voice of the ancient Vampire exclaimed, "our High Priestess speaks highly of you to us. We are indebted to you for saving her life."

"It was nothing," Harry mumbled, passing over the reference to Alexa being a High Priestess. He could feel his cheeks blushing red and wanted to avoid any further embarrassment, "anyone else would have done the same."

Vladmiran shook his head, "quite the contrary! Anyone else would have driven a stake though her heart or decapitated her knowing what she was! You saved her from eternal damnation at the feet of our Maker, where he would banish us to where they burn our flesh, pick it from our skeleton and grind our bones into dust over the course of an eternity!"

Alexa instantly spotted all's discomfort, for they were not used to the Chieftan's manner. Even at peace, Vampires always seemed aggressive and dark with their everyday language and normal magical folk were ill-accustomed to their ways and their traditions.

"Vlad, quit with the negative imagery!" she exclaimed in a jovial tone, "you'll give them all nightmares!"

The wizened man bowed his head and swept back to where the others stood in an unnatural silence that concerned all present.

"Now, to business," Alexa announced with a resounding clap that echoed about the high ceiling.

Mad-Eye, the least perturbed by the Vampires, cleared his throat, "we have just had word that the latest attempt has failed, Alexa. The Tricorn clan was massacred en route to the rendezvous point."

"Another failure," she muttered, shaking her head and casting her eyes down in grief, "Voldemort is slowly destroying the only hope we have left!"

"We are running out of opportunities," Remus Lupin announced, toying absent-mindedly with his coffee cup, "so far we only have two Vampire clans successfully transported but these grow impatient for information."

Tonks silenced him, placing her hand over his gently before continuing in his stead, "we haven't been able to tell them anything at all, Alexa, only that Voldemort plans to bring something forth from the nether regions of evil. They need to know what they're up against!"

"No!" the witch exclaimed, a fiery glint appearing in her eyes in the face of potential mutiny, "it is not their burden to bear. If you all knew the black void that I know is coming, you'd all give up the fight. I can't let that happen."

"Not everyone would give up," Harry announced, "don't you all see that we're being tested? If we are to be truly worthy of life then we have to fight for it because if not, no one wins. I know what's coming, not through choice, and it's the worst evil you could possibly imagine, even worse than Voldemort. Be ignorant while you can and be glad of it. Don't rush to be told all the details."

"Very well spoke Harry, but fear of the unknown is more all-consuming than knowing your foe," a familiar voice echoed down the corridor. Everyone turned and faced the kitchen door in time to see Albus Dumbledore striding down the narrow access, leading Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape, "if the Vampires are growing anxious then so will our other allies, so the time for secrets has passed."

"Albus," Alexa said in a warming tone, her eyes gleaming dangerously.

"The Chimeras," the old wizard announced, "are to be raised from their Hell."

All in the kitchen, barring the Elders, descended into chaos. Knowledge of the Chimeras' threat was like a cold void that smothered all the hope that had once existed.

First there were exclamations of horror and then a deep, impenetrable silence that was like a Dementor, swallowing all good thoughts for the future. The future was a terrifying prospect because, for the first time, nothing was certain anymore.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Alexa's voice raised in sheer fury was the first noise to pierce the eery quiet, "this was exactly what I was trying to avoid! They weren't ready to hear it!"

It was the first time that Harry had ever seen Dumbledore anything but serene. His bright eyes gleamed in anger and his brow furrowed, deepening the lines already present, "Miss Flock, we are going to war and must devise a strategy that will exploit our enemies' weaknesses. How can we do that when we do not know what we are fighting?"

Harry was surprised that the Hogwarts Headmaster had addressed Britain's most powerful Auror so formally given their close acquaintance, and it was clear from Alexa's astonishment that she was too.

"Remember to whom you are speaking, old man!" Vladmiran shrieked in fury, stepping in between Alexa and Dumbledore with fierce possessiveness.

Albus instantly bottled and stoppered his sudden rage and smiled kindly, "Mr. Chieftan of the Vampire Elders, I meant no disrespect. Forgive me, Alexa. I fear I have become too passionate regarding this issue, but I implore you to see your error, my dear. Please, spread the word amongst the clans that have already heeded our call. We must prepare them for what lies ahead."

For a moment, Alexa battled with her feelings but soon her expression hardened, "is this how this is going to be?" she asked of her friend and mentor, stepping out from behind Vladmiran, "you second guessing my every decision and trying to undermine me? If we reveal the threat to the clans that haven't yet sworn fealty to our cause then they will flee and go to ground with their trust shattered and I will be banished. Deception is not lightly forgiven amongst my people. Once they have sworn fealty then we can talk again."

"Alexa," Hermione whispered in a shaky hiss of words, "how many do we have helping us against the Chimeras?" It was a question that Harry was interested in also.

"Four clans, the Elders here and the Order of the Phoenix. If that totals a hundred then we'll be lucky!" she replied, "we lost four clans - massacred while moving. They've learned our plans somehow and are picking us off one by one."

"What about the League?" Harry dared to ask, "will they be helping?"

"Surely you've seen the paper, Harry?" she replied, "I have been suspended from office, pending psychological evaluation, and we all know how they'll pronounce me."

Dread gripped Harry's heart. Yes, he knew. Fudge would not allow her to return because she was a threat.

"To Hell with Fudge and his meaningless decrees," Minerva McGonagall exclaimed, breaking her lengthy silence, "everyone in the magical community must know that you are perfectly sound in mind!"

"Actually the magical community is quite pissed off with my, and I quote, '_unhealthy and disturbed fascination with certain un-dead and bloodthirsty creatures_'...like _Vampires_ for example," she replied in a sneering, mocking tone, "it is the opinion of most that I should either be committed to St. Mungo's psychiatric ward in a strait jacket or sentenced to an eternity with the Dementors at Azkaban, or what's left of them given their allegiance to Voldemort."

"That's funny, because I had quite a conversation with Courtney Lovelace," Albus interjected.

Alexa snorted, "I'll bet it was a conversation! Even though Miss Lovelace is an exemplary Auror and witch, it is her that should be subjected to a psychological examination."

"Was it her madness that spoke so highly of you?" Dumbledore replied with a triumphant smirk beneath his silver beard, "and was it her madness that testified as to your sound mind before the Wizengamot and swore that she and everyone in the Auror League would serve no one but you? They all believe in you, Alexa Flock. As do we all. Natalia, Dimitri, Nikoli, Francois and Ingrid - among others - all hold you in very high regard and have sworn that should you ever give the word, they would follow you to the death. Is this the fealty you were hoping for?"

Harry grinned from ear to ear as Dumbledore winked knowingly at him. Every eye in the room was on Alexa, including the Elders'.

Unable to stand their stares, she turned away and began to pace, her every concern and worry fuelling each step. In order to aid her decision, Severus Snape stepped forwards,

"Fudge is weak, don't let yourself be," he said in his deep, gravelly monotones.

Stamping her foot, she signalled for quiet and then turned to Vladmiran with re-ignited fire in her eyes, "contact the clans and inform them of the threat. Tell them that Voldemort plans to raise the Chimeras. He must be stopped before the portal can be opened or all is lost," she said in that authoritative tone that almost dared anyone to speak against her, "we must also up our game seeing as Voldemort has upped his. I must got to Romania at once."

Vladmiran bowed low and he left, motioning the others to follow him. There was almost a sigh of relief when the Elders were on their way, for the kitchen once again warmed up.

"Albus, Minerva, Severus, will you help us?" Alexa asked, "I need an ambassador to travel to Romania with me and second my motion. They do not trust the Ministry of Magic anymore than Vladmiran does." Albus nodded and volunteered himself as an ambassador while his two loyal teachers agreed to watch over Hogwarts while he was gone, "then we will leave in two hours," she announced, much to Harry's dismay. He had hoped that she would be back longer, but evidently there was still business to conduct.

"What's in Romania?" he dared to ask, almost afraid of the answer.

"Vampires," she replied with a smirk and a strangely gleeful glint in her eyes, "Transylvania is full of the strongest Vampires ever to walk the Earth. They never rest and are exemplary warriors and are sure to join our fight, for there has been enough Vampire blood spilled to bring them to our side."

"But Transylvanian Vampires reeked such havoc in the aftermath of the Chimeras' last raising that they were forbidden to ever set foot on our soil. It will take a tremendous amount of magic to break that restriction," Snape added, "magic that may even be beyond you."

Alexa laughed, "there are always loopholes to every rule."

There was something in her eyes that told Harry she was looking forward to defying the Ministry more than she already had. But he was worried. What if the Transylvanians couldn't be controlled? What if they turned against the Order and joined Voldemort? There was also his concern that Alexa simply wouldn't survive this latest battle and he couldn't bare that. His feelings were deeper than even he had thought.

With plans in motion, the Order concluded their meeting at dawn, with Mrs. Weasley forcing everyone back to bed for a couple of hours ("I don't care if it makes you late for work, Arthur Weasley, you need your rest!").

But Harry knew that sleep was far away, with Alexa due to depart on another mission. He remained frozen in the doorway, watching as she stooped and took a poker from the hearth, stirring the glowing embers that were steadily dying.

"You could do with your rest too, Harry," she addressed him in soft tones, "go back to bed like Mrs. Weasley said."

He shook his head with surprising vehemence, "you expect me to sleep knowing that you're here?"

She smiled to herself, "I guess not. You must have worried a great deal about me."

"Seeing reports of more deaths at the hands of Deatheaters, what did you expect?" he replied with a sharper tone than he really intended.

Looking up at him, the dying orange glow on her cheek, she read the feeling in his eyes and a deep feeling of guilt consumed her. So long she had toiled and ventured and had never thought, nor been allowed, to write to young Harry Potter.

All summer, her plans and ambitions had taken over, such was the necessity. Her plans were important for the greater good, but how could she explain that when she was faced with Harry's hurt? He had seen her true side - her Vampire side - when she had rescued him from Voldemort's clutches and he had neither been afraid nor run away. He had shown true bravery.

But it was his acceptance that had terrified her. She was part demon, and not just any demon but the unholiest and most dangerous of all. No one had ever treated her as an equal besides Dumbledore and the Weasleys. It was far easier for her to deal with the rejection and prejudice than acceptance.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't contact you, Harry," she said, standing up and stepping towards him, "I was a little preoccupied with getting the clans to safety and I couldn't even do that right."

"It's not your fault," Harry tried to reassure her as she pulled out a chair and sat down, her head in her hands, "how could you have known what Voldemort was planning?"

"But I could have been there transporting them instead of pacing the length and width of my office, waiting to go into a meeting with Fudge that was cancelled anyway!"

"This time it'll be better," he continued, "once the Transylvanians get here everything will be better."

Alexa shrugged, "we've got to get them over the seas first, and that's not considering how we've got to get their support first. Transylvania is not a friendly place to outsiders, even Vampire outsiders."

"You will succeed," Harry said, sitting down next to her and covering her icy hand with his own, "they'll know you mean well and will join our cause when they understand its threat to them."

"I wish I had your optimism, Harry, but I think we're fighting a losing battle," she divulged with tears forming in her wide, doe-like eyes, "I wouldn't tell anyone this, but I think something really bad is going to happen soon."

"You mean Voldemort is close to raising the Chimeras?"

Alexa shook her head so hard that Harry felt like her teeth would fall out, "no, not that!" she exclaimed, "he knows something or has someone helping him that's led to so many failures. If the Deatheaters manage to destroy this last hope then all is lost. There's something we're missing."

From her reaction, Harry Potter knew that whatever she was feeling had truly terrified her. It was unlike Alexa Flock to be so fearful for she was normally so steadfast and strong, but he felt too that they were missing some obvious detail that could be the difference between success and failure.

Just as he was about to reach out and embrace her and dry away her tears, a deep voice cleared its throat behind them. They both looked round and saw Dumbledore stood in the dark, shadowed doorway.

"Everything is ready," he said, "we'd better set out."

Alexa nodded and snapped her fingers, a hooded travelling cloak appearing from the air itself and wrapping itself around her. With a wan smile, she hugged Harry tightly, "be good at school and don't get into too much trouble," she said with a small sniff, "I'll write when I can."

With that, the pair swept from Grimmauld Place without a backward glance, leaving Harry very nervous and even more alone.

Why did her infrequent visits always end in an abrupt departure? Harry didn't have the energy to answer the questions his inner voice presented him with.

His heart weighed him down and eventually the glowing embers died, surrendering the kitchen to the icy chill of the early morning.

Somewhere in the dusty house, a clock struck, but he was too tired to count the chimes that vibrated down the corridor. All he troubled himself with was the fact that it was early and the day was too new to dress and venture outdoors, so it was with a loud yawn that Harry trudged wearily up the stairs and into his room, bolting the door behind him.

Alexa was such a warm, affectionate creature that she left in her wake a deep, gnawing loneliness that chipped away at him slowly and steadily. He missed her eyes, her smile, the smell of her perfume and the butterflies that appeared in his stomach whenever she was near, and these feelings had changed ever since she had saved his life.

From that day on, she had captured him mind, body and soul and Harry Potter was in no hurry to be freed. He was quite happy for the ravishing beauty to linger before his mind's eye until the end of time.

He padded towards his bed sleepily and was about to collapse into the welcome folds when a white object lying atop the dark covers caught his eye. Bending down, Harry picked it up gingerly. It had been placed there while he was in the meeting.

He glanced at the flowing calligraphy and instantly recognised the distinctive curl of the 'y' of his name. Tearing open the envelope in greedy earnest, he took out the neatly folded parchment and unfolded it.

Clipped to the left corner of the official correspondence was a card on Auror League stationery. The same writing that was on the envelope continued on the card, which simply said '_my dear Harry, please consider this my birthday present to you_.' It was signed simply with an 'A'.

In eagerness, Harry bent back the card and scrutinised the parchment beneath. The familiar handwriting of Alexa was gone. The cold, distant print of the letterhead stated that the correspondence was not from her department.

Evellis Academy, Admissions Office.

His brow furrowed as he tried to think of the significance of the Academy. He somehow remembered someone at Hogwarts mentioning it to him, possibly even Hermione. If it had been, then the Academy could represent anything given the unfortunate fact that he rarely paid attention to the sometimes know-it-all Miss Granger. Now he really wished that he had listened more attentively.

_Mr. Potter_

_We are pleased to inform you that you are currently holding a Conditional position to study First Year Studies; Part One: Evil Detection, at Evellis Academy, which is due to commence two years to the date of this letter and provided you have completed the necessary qualifications at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. _

_Your nominated Referee has assured us that you will strive to attain the minimum requirements necessary to attend, and given her rank and respectability within the Ministry of Magic, we have accepted this as sound assurance._

_There is no need to respond to this letter. All correspondence may be facilitated by your Referee: Alexa Q. J. V. Flock, Head Auror of the 22__nd__ Defensive Division of Britain, High Witch (for six consecutive years) and Leader/Founder/Chair of the League of Aurors._

_Thank you for applying to Evellis Academy, good luck with your current studies and we hope to greet you at the Welcome Address in two years._

_Yours gratefully,_

_Jane WhipsnatchSenior Secretary of Admissions; Evellis Academy._

Harry stared for several minutes at the letter, re-reading it three times and pinching himself the same to ascertain that he wasn't dreaming. They hadn't even begun to fill in applications for further study yet, let alone spoken to Referees.

His heart beat furiously in his ears with excitement. Jane Whipsnatch would have probably had a heart attack when Alexa's reference had been deposited on her desk. It must have given her quite a kick to learn that the Boy Who Lived was aspiring to be an Auror.

Alexa Flock had always said that she would help, and she hadn't disappointed.

He wanted to grab his friend and mentor round the neck and kiss her with gratitude. Now all he had to do to secure his place at Evellis Academy was pull his grades up to what they should be, which would prove to be a very different and more difficult task. He could probably enlist Hermione's help but she would want to see solid proof that he wasn't just using her to skive off and shun some hard work. Harry just had to hope that his best friend knew him better than that. Alexa had stuck her neck out by pledging such confidence in his grades and the last thing he wanted was to make her look even more a fool than the Daily Prophet had made her already.

Very carefully, Harry Potter folded the letter up and stowed it and Alexa's notecard back into the envelope, concealing it in the drawer with his heinous Daily Prophet scrapbook. The powerful Auror had promised to help him get into the Auror Academy, but it had never crossed his mind that she would call on her influence with the League to do so. It just added another thing to the never-ending list that Harry owed her for.

He was tempted to pen a short 'thank you' note but he had no idea where to direct Hedwig, certainly nothing more than Transylvania, Romania. Despite his wanting to express his gratitude, Harry had to accept that they were separated once again and likely to be for a long time.

It just warmed his heart to know that even though his birthday was a few days away, Alexa Flock hadn't forgotten him in the midst of her exhaustive duties.

Fixing her breathtaking image in his mind's eye, Harry crawled back into bed and fell into a fitful slumber.

The final few days before they returned to Hogwarts were filled with a mass of cleaning of the old Black residence that was now Harry's lodgings, inherited from his deceased, fugitive Godfather, Sirius Black, and which was also Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix.

Members of the Order had tried on numerous occasions to rid the house of its dust pestilence but nothing seemed to work. It was as if it was enchanted to fall from the ceiling like invisible snowflakes, contaminating everything it touched.

Mrs. Weasley spent hours in the drawing room beating the tapestries on the walls with a brush, emerging every few minutes coughing and gasping for fresh air.

"It's no use!" she shrieked, stomping off down the hallway shaking dust from her red hair, "nothing will make this house clean!"

"It's still as disgusting as it was when we first moved the Order in," Hermione grumbled, flapping her duster out of the window to dispel the cloud of dust.

"I like it this way," Ron muttered to Harry in an undertone, "reminds me of my room back home with its layer of grime beneath the soft, fluffy dust. Makes it quite cozy."

Harry shook his head at Ron's strange nostalgia, but the Weasleys had been away from home a long time.

Since the Order had welcomed the Vampires to their cause, the red-haired family had practically moved in. Sometimes Harry wished for peace, quiet and the joys of being left alone, but Grimmauld Place wouldn't be home without them.

"You do realise that household dust is one part dead, sloughed-off skin cells and the other part dust mite faeces, Ronald?" Hermione interjected in that superior, condescending tone that she saved only for the second youngest Weasley child.

"Really, Hermione?" Ron exclaimed sarcastically, irritated that she'd been eavesdropping on their conversation, "I never knew that! Thank you for sharing."

With an irritated _hmph_, Hermione Granger stomped off and turned her attention to furiously scrubbing the walls clear of cobwebs.

When she was out of earshot and had her back turned, Ron turned to Harry with a shocked and disgusted expression, "is she right?" he gasped in horror.

Harry burst out laughing, "this is Hermione we're talking about. When is she ever wrong about anything?"

Ron let out a strangled cry of anguish and scuttled away, leaving his friend almost bent double with laughter.

"What's with him?" Fred asked, casting a dark shadow over Harry, who had to look up to meet his gaze, "that's the third time our brother has run off whimpering like a girl."

Harry stifled his laughter just long enough to explain, sending Fred into hysterics and all at poor, innocent Ron's expense.

The Grimmauld Place townhouse was filled with such laughter and gaiety that Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny could hardly bring themselves to leave. The days went flitting by and soon it was time to pack for another school year at Hogwarts.

Harry's trunk had never emptied save for one or two of his favourite books, which could be told apart from the others by their creased covers and scuffed spines. Hermione, on the other hand, spent an entire morning flying around the house in a frenzy, gathering scrolls of parchment, odd quills with their feathers crooked and bottles of ink, before she fastened the buckles of her trunk and collapsed in Harry's room, where he was secretly staring at the letter from Evellis Academy.

"Thank heavens!" she exclaimed with a weary sigh, "I never thought I'd finish!"

"Well, you have been reading those books constantly," Harry replied, "I'm surprised you could find them all."

"Kreacher had snook off with my copy of '_Runes for the Advanced_'. I had to smack his hands before he'd stop playing tug-of-war. I really do think that he hates me."

Harry couldn't help but smile at the house elf activist's furrowed brow. Kreacher's dislike really did bother her, especially given how Hermione had gone out of her way to be nice to him to no avail, "well Hermione, if you go around slapping him then he's bound not to particularly like you."

She _hmph-_ed for a little while, folding and unfolding her arms in indignation before muttering, "we had a letter from Alexa today, all written in coding runes."

Harry threw his letter down in surprise, "and this isn't the first thing you tell me?" he barked, "when did it arrive?"

"Just before breakfast," she answered, "Mrs. Weasley was too preoccupied with the sausages and bacon to notice. Dumbledore's phoenix brought it so we knew that it must be from them."

"What did it say?" Harry's interrogation continued, his feelings slight hurt with the knowledge that his mentor hadn't thought to send him a more personal note.

Hermione read these feelings from her best friend's expression and knew that the impromptu arrival of a letter from Miss Flock really shouldn't have been mentioned.

Mrs. Weasley had aired her concerns regarding Harry's all-consuming interest in the Vampire-Siren half-breed.

It was common knowledge within the Order that she had particularly intoxicated the young Harry Potter, her Sirenism still apparently potent, and they all worried themselves about him. Her Vampire side still struck fear into their hearts because of her potential for evil, even given all the good work she had done as an Auror.

Harry's was a dangerous love which no good could come of, and everyone knew it but him.

"Only that all is well in Transylvania," Hermione muttered, avoiding Harry's imploring stare, "the Vampires were quite accommodating when Alexa introduced herself, so her reputation evidently travels further than we all thought."

"Have they agreed to help us?"

She shook her head, "not yet. When she wrote the letter, they were preparing to go to Council about it. The Vampires need to discuss everything with their own clans before they can agree to anything."

Harry growled, "as if we have the time for more talk!" he exclaimed in fury, "the Chimeras could be summoned tomorrow for all we know and we wouldn't be prepared!"

Hermione looked him in the eyes for the first time, afraid of the blazing anger glaring in his irises, "Harry, if the Chimeras break through into this world, not even the Transylvanian Vampires can stop them. _Nothing_ will stop them."

"We don't know that!" he retorted angrily, "nothing is certain. The Vampires may be able to kill them."

"Alexa says not."

"Hasn't the great Alexa Flock ever been wrong?" he demanded, his temper electrifying the atmosphere.

"She isn't this time!" Hermione shouted, her best friend's eyes widening in surprise but he remained silent, "Harry, she's High Priestess and that means that she knows these things. It's how she's become so powerful. But she's investigating potential solutions. The Council possesses a great library of knowledge and prophecies. If anything can be done, she'll find it there."

Harry couldn't help burying his head in his hands, consumed with helplessness. With his mentor so far away, he felt as though he was stranded in a crashing sea of despair, even though the better part of his judgement told him to put his feelings to one side. He knew he was getting in too deep but even though he could feel himself falling, the young wizard could do nothing.

"Harry, we're all getting really worried about you," Hermione said in a very tentative tone.

Since Cedric Diggory's death, which Harry felt completely responsible for, he was prone to unpredictable bouts of fury, and even though Hermione was well versed in defensive spells, she felt incredibly vulnerable given the strict restrictions placed on underage wizards and witches,

"Whenever Alexa is away you become so depressed and angry that you snap at everyone, then when she's back you smile more than I've ever seen you smile before. What I'm trying to say, and really badly too, is that these feelings..."

"What feelings?" Harry barked suddenly, his voice echoing about the room menacingly.

Hermione realised once again that this was a subject best not broached, "Harry, I'm sorry, it's just that..."

"What?" he interrupted, his eyes blazing with a fury that he knew was unfair. Some part of him beneath the angry personality knew that Hermione was just worried about him. Yet all he wanted was to be left alone with his feelings and not be made to feel guilty about them.

He didn't even know what he felt for Alexa Flock, everything inside him was just so confused. When she was around, Harry felt as though the whole world was brighter, even if the sun was in, and that the threat of evil times approaching was nothing at all. But when she was gone, a fist of ice clenched his heart and numbed his mind to all but almost madness.

She seemed to exhibit a calming effect on his troubled life which he valued more than anything. When the Auror was around, Harry could tap into himself again, rather than the grumpy, angry thing that he didn't recognise when he looked in the mirror.

"Any feelings that you may have for her won't lead to anything good. She's a Vampire."

"And a Siren!" he barked in Alexa's defence.

"But still a Vampire," Hermione replied, remarkably calm, "she possesses more potential for evil than the rest of us."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing!" he exclaimed, "Alexa Flock saved me from Deatheaters, she convinces the Vampire Elders to help a Ministry they detest, and she trawls thousands of miles across the sea to enlist the Transylvanians' help, and you're convinced that she has evil potential? She has a better soul than any of us."

"What's going on here?" Ron's voice appeared from the door, his head poked round curiously, "what you shouting about, Harry?"

"I wasn't shouting," Harry muttered, indignantly folding his arms and turning away.

"Didn't sound like it," the red-haired Weasley son replied and threw himself down on the bed with a _hmph_ of exhaustion, "seriously, Harry, that temper of yours could trigger World War III!"

Harry whirled around in anger, "well, what do you expect? Is it illegal to actually _like_ Alexa?"

Ron snorted, "I do a damn sight more than like her, mate," he said with a grin, "she's bloody fit! Especially when she's angry."

"Honestly!" Hermione exclaimed, "can't anyone see beyond her Sirenism?"

"Sirius was with her for years so she can't be that bad!" Ron replied, "and it's not her Sirenism, she's just so...well..."

"Yeah," Harry added dreamily, the two boys drifting off into their own reverie.

"Boys!" Hermione muttered to herself and stomped from the room in a temper.

It was several minutes before the boys could speak again, so caught up were they in their own thoughts.

"Why does everyone have such a problem with the fact that I have some feelings for Alexa?" Harry asked, lying face down on the bed that Ron was lying across, "she's saved my life, got me into the Auror Academy and just been there for me...sort of. What's everyone's issue with her?"

Ron shrugged, "I dunno, mate. It can't really be because she's a Vampire because they let her into the Order didn't they? Maybe it's because she lives such a dangerous life."

"But we all live dangerous lives at the moment and she's fighting to make it better. Why can't anybody see that?"

Ron shrugged. Neither of the boys knew any of the answers to the questions in their minds, much to their disappointment. They wanted to be able to defend their attraction to her but no one would understand, as Hermione had proven.

Clearly the Order were not completely convinced that Alexa was on the side of good. Her revelation about her Vampire origins to all who were not already aware had been regarded with extreme caution, McGonagall and Snape in particular. The former fiercely wanted to believe in Alexa's humanity but the latter liked to protest at all junctures that Alexa couldn't be trusted, especially when in contact with her own kind.

It was getting increasing difficult for the rest of the Order to close their ears to Vampire prejudice, and that of the Ministry also didn't help their cause.

Even the Daily Prophet headlines were beginning to affect the stability of the Order and the younger members lived in constant fear of a schism dividing the only force actively working to stop Voldemort. No one wanted Alexa Flock to be responsible, but the fact was inevitable.

Sooner than anyone really wanted, the day dawned that marked their journey to Hogwarts.

Trunks, animal cages and other paraphernalia were stacked treacherously in the narrow corridor in preparation for their departure, and Mrs. Weasley piled their plates high with a delicious breakfast to satisfy them on their long journey.

"You'll need your strength today," she fussed, "they don't feed you properly on that train."

"Can we have some money for sweets please, mum?" Ginny asked, her hopes dashed with a vigorous shake of Molly Weasley's head,

"Absolutely not," she snapped, "we told you to save some of your holiday money for the train journey but you wouldn't listen."

With a frustrated growl, Ginny abandoned her half-eaten breakfast and sat back in her chair, arms folded.

Harry gave her a sympathetic smile, making a mental note to buy plenty of sweets to share amongst the youngest Weasley children.

Mrs. Weasley fussed over everyone equally as they prepared to leave Grimmauld Place, for she wasn't accompanying them to King's Cross Station. It consisted of the usual motherly dotings of 'keep safe', 'don't break the rules', 'don't lose your quills, we can't afford anymore.'

Her final warning was directed at Ron, who always seemed to manage to misplace his entire year's supply of quills within the first two weeks.

But the doting didn't end there. Dear old Molly made a tremendous show of straightening coats, pulling wooly hats down about their ears, tying scarves and checking that gloves were correctly on.

Harry couldn't help but smile as she fretted that little bit more. It was at times like these when he pined for his own mother, the mother whose death was still to be avenged.

All in all, it took the children and Mr. Weasley all their effort and persuasion to leave the dank, oppressive house, Mad-Eye Moody, Lupin and Tonks acting as their convoy. The three members of the Order followed the Weasleys' car all the way to the station, using deception charms that made them appear to witnesses as a flock of birds, flying in formation.

The station in the heart of London was so busy that their farewells to their faithful protectors had to be rushed. It was an irksome task, for Harry particularly wanted a little more time to converse with Remus Lupin. The werewolf was looking a little worse for wear these days and the concerned teenager was particularly keen to know why, but they hadn't had a spare moment at Grimmauld Place and now time was not on their side.

"Take care Harry," Lupin said kindly.

Tonks issued a final, mischievous smile before they both disappeared, Mad-Eye following a few seconds later.

With the brief farewell over more quickly than when they had faced Molly Weasley, the four returning Hogwarts students trudged through the jostling crowd within the station.

They parted from Arthur Weasley at the infamous wall between platforms nine and ten, each rushing through the concealed gateway while he watched them go before following Lupin, Tonks and Moody back to Headquarters.

Platform nine-and-three-quarters was almost as full as King's Cross, bodies loitering on the platform as sons and daughters said their own goodbyes.

The scarlet, gleaming Hogwarts Express stood proudly at the platform edge with its many carriages coupled behind. The steam from its mighty engine obscured most of the people on the platform from view, but they still managed to spot some of their classmates; Neville Longbottom, Lee Jordan, Seamus Finnigan, Colin Creevey and other Gryffindors were waiting to get into the carriages as Slytherin bullies pushed and fought them with loud guffaws of amusement. Among those Slytherins were Crabbe and Goyle, Draco Malfoy's former stooges.

Harry grinned to himself as he thought ahead to a peaceful year without fear of confrontation with the white-haired, sneering son of Lucius Malfoy.

Harry's hatred had catapulted to new heights last year when he had launched an unprovoked and potentially fatal attack on Alexa Flock, which would have claimed her life had Harry not been there to cast the spell that had saved her.

Professor McGonagall had been a witness to the near catastrophe and had no doubt appealed to Dumbledore to expel the ruthless teenager and send him away in disgrace.

Now Harry could truly enjoy Hogwarts for the first time in all his years of study.

They braved the queue at the doors and managed to board the carriage without incident, but the oppressive heat of the booths they passed made them want to rush back out into the cool of the platform.

Eventually they located a vacant booth towards the rear of the train and both boys were quickly lulled to sleep by the rhythmic sounds of the train.

Harry and Ron were carried away on the clouds to where the object of their affections was waiting, and together they frolicked on the ripples of the dreams, their sleep only disturbed by waves of hunger at tea time, which were placated with innumerable amounts of sweets from the trolley witch, Harry keeping his silent promise to purchase enough to share with everyone.

Their stomachs full, they all embarked on a raucous game of Exploding Snap, finishing just as the train pulled noisily into Hogsmeade Station.

The final few miles of their journey was carried out by Thestral-drawn carriages, the lights in the windows of the ancient Hogwarts castle drawing ever nearer.

Harry heaved a sigh. It was nice to be back among friends at the only place he had been able to call home.

Since Sirius died two years ago, even Grimmauld Place appeared cold and desolate. He didn't feel like it was a proper home, and he was beginning to wonder how the Order of the Phoenix could operate from a place that used to house such evil.

Hogwarts, however, was warm and welcoming, even in the icy courtyard, and he could hardly bring himself to leave it at term's end.

The feast put on for the students in the Great Hall was magnificent, with mountains of roast chicken drumsticks, mashed potatoes and every vegetable imaginable, with boats of thick, meaty gravy.

Despite indulging in handfuls of delectables on the train, Harry and Ron piled their plates high and shovelled food into their mouths in the same manner as a starving child.

Hermione threw them many a judgmental glance, but nothing seemed to deter them from their single-minded goal to give themselves indigestion.

When the feast was almost over, the teachers filed into the hall and took their seats at the head table. Their entrance attracted the attention of all the seated students, with Harry, Ron and Hermione in particular surprised to see the presence of Albus Dumbledore.

The wizened Headmaster was much paler than usual in the candlelight, his eyes having lost their lively sparkle, and his hair and beard appeared to be knotted and exhibited all the tell-tale signs of lengthy travel.

Given his appearance, they weren't altogether shocked to take in that he wasn't going to address his school, like he usually did at the start-of-term feast.

"Isn't he supposed to be in Transylvania?" Ron asked.

Hermione shrugged, "they must have come back."

Harry's eyes traced their way to the head table where McGonagall and Snape were talking over the fragile form of the Hogwarts Headmaster.

Dumbledore had shrunk back in his seat, his eyes almost closed. His robes were soiled and torn in places, his hat slightly askew.

The fact that the usually cheery, animated man was not engaging with his fellows was testament to his exhaustion, but it also had Harry worried. Was it the travel that had stolen the old man's strength, or was it because something had gone wrong in Transylvania?

"Wouldn't Alexa be here with him?" he asked.

Hermione and Ron didn't respond and all three pondered over the mystery throughout the remainder of the feast.

Travelling from Transylvania was quite a taxing feat, but Dumbledore had always appeared the picture of health and vitality, so was it possible that something could have gone wrong?

With Voldemort at large, getting stronger and desperate for victory, anything was possible and it was this that worried them as they looked to the table again to witness Dumbledore's head bobbing dangerously low over his soup.

Suddenly McGonagall rose from her seat and clapped her hands for attention, "may I have your attention, please?" she said and waited for the respectful silence that rapidly followed, "Professor Dumbledore has asked me to give out a few announcements; as usual, the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students; Professor Hagrid would like to warn off all attempts to jinx his flock of Blast-Ended Skrewts. Last year there was a great deal of them lost to such childish behaviour. Any student causing harm to these magical creatures may face expulsion; and finally, I would like to welcome your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor...oh, where is he?"

The students all looked around the head table eagerly for their new teacher, but the chair between Professors Sprout and Flitwick was strangely vacant.

A great whisper of anticipation spread amongst the students, their tittering halted by the sudden, loud slamming of the door to the Great Hall.

All heads turned to where a dark figure lingered in the doorway.

"Ah, here he is. Let us all welcome your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Vas."

The new Professor began his long journey down the length of the Great Hall to muted, nervous applause. He was a sinister looking creature with long black hair that hung heavily down to his shoulders, framing his pale face limply and thick with grease. Two grey eyes shone like a beacon from behind his long fringe, his lips almost blue. He walked with heavy steps and hunched shoulders, passing the students shifty sideways glances as he progressed.

The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws in his wake wrinkled their noses at the stale smell of sweat and the outdoors that followed him, seeping from the heavy leather coat that hung shapelessly on his shoulders. The material was scraped and scuffed until it was almost threadbare and the black waistcoat and shirt must have made him very hot indeed, given the strangely warm September weather.

"Professor Vas, would you care to say a few words?" McGonagall queried as he stepped onto the platform.

To the surprise of all the students and teachers, he shook his head in a violent manner and swept passed, taking his seat but making no attempt to eat.

McGonagall was speechless, but quickly cleared her throat and concluded her list of announcements with a little more trepidation than before.

All the students felt it. Whoever this Professor Vas was, he had brought the cold in with him. They all huddled together a little tighter and wrapped their hands around their mugs for warmth.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Harry thought aloud, not daring to take his eyes off the evil-looking man for even a second.

"Yeah, he looks kinda scary," Ron replied, "and what kind of name is 'Vas' anyway? Where's he from?"

"Well, we're not likely to find out," Hermione hissed, "if his attitude's anything to go by."

"You don't think this could be another Ministry thing, do you?" Harry whispered.

Hermione shook her head very definitely, "positive. The Ministry is so paranoid that they wouldn't trust him. He must just be an everyday applicant - and the only one, because I doubt even Dumbledore would trust him given that entrance. Just plain rude!"

"He's definitely going to be one to watch," Harry muttered, "if he isn't a Ministry spy then he could be anyone."

Harry's sentiments were echoed in the thoughts of all the other Hogwarts students that evening.

Vas' entrance had made everyone all the more subdued, and it was a very quiet party that trudged up the vast staircases to the common rooms.

But Harry, Ron and Hermione had barely set foot on the staircase when an all too familiar voice reached their ears,

"I've heard that Professor Vas is quite the radical, just what the school needs!"

Whirling round in a frenzy, Harry laid eyes on the one person he had been most looking forward to doing without.

The white-blonde hair, sneering mouth, cold eyes and tall, scrawny frame. Nothing had changed.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Harry demanded, storming over to where Draco Malfoy was sandwiched between his loyal goons, including Millicent Bullstrode and Marcus Flint.

With a lopsided, sneering smirk, Malfoy turned towards him, "what do you think, Potty?" he retorted, his nickname for Harry amusing his eager onlookers, "or have you still not realised what this place is about? You're getting about as mad as that crazy bitch you're so fond of."

Instinctively, Ron wrapped his arms over Harry's shoulders, effectively restraining him. Harry struggled and growled in fury but Ron was the stronger.

"You think you can just walk back in here after you tried to kill Alexa?" he yelled, his eyes blazing.

Malfoy sneered at him, "unfortunate incident that, caused by a manic episode brought on by stress," he added a theatrical pause to allow it to sink in, "doctors at St. Mungo's examined me and pronounced me fit to come back. Thought it might do me good, getting back to a routine."

"You evil, conniving little..." Hermione shrieked, breaking off before she could say something she'd regret, "Dumbledore wouldn't just let you back after using such dark magic!"

Malfoy laughed mockingly, "you think Dumbledore had a choice?" he sneered, "have you all forgotten that my father is on the Board of Governors? Father presented my psychiatrist's report which pronounced me sound of mind again."

"I'm sure I'll be able to fix that!" Harry yelled, still struggling against Ron's grip, "you tried to kill her!"

"Is little Potty in love?" Malfoy jeered cruelly, "it just goes to show your taste. Filthy little do-gooder."

"Leave her out of this, you snake!" Harry's tirade continued, "everyone knows you're a Deatheater after what you did!"

Draco shrugged carelessly, "moment of insanity, Potter. Get Granger to look it up because that's all she's good for."

"_Inverté Statim_!" Hermione shrieked furiously, the curse streaking across the hallway where it struck Malfoy clean in the chest and knocked him off his feet.

Stunned, he lay on the floor, grunting in pain from where his head had hit the floor.

"Wow, Hermione!" Ron exclaimed, loosening his hold on Harry in awe, "that was wicked!"

Hermione shrugged modestly and tucked her wand away as Harry rushed to Malfoy's side and kicked him sharply in the ribs.

Crabbe and Goyle scattered in fear, under the impression that he was going to turn his fury on them next.

"That's for Alexa," he snapped as his victim spluttered and groaned, rolling around on the flagstones.

Before their fight could be discovered, Hermione led them away up the stairs. Once safely shut away in the warm Gryffindor common room, they wove their way through the many bodies and collapsed on the hearth rug before the fire.

"Malfoy was bang out of order back there, mate," Ron said as Harry stared into the flames, lost in his own thoughts, "nice kick though. Wish I'd done it. I can't believe they let him back in!"

Hermione snorted, "we all know what his father's like, Ron. The Governors and Dumbledore wouldn't have stood a chance."

"So now we've got to share a classroom with _him_," Harry snarled, "Dumbledore could have stopped him coming back if he'd wanted to."

"That's not really fair, Harry," Hermione said, "Dumbledore will have done his best, but you know that the Malfoys always get what they want."

"Then it's time someone took a stand," he retorted, "everyone seems to have forgotten that he meant to murder an Auror in cold blood!"

Hermione and Ron exchanged a glance, "but Draco didn't mean to murder just any Auror did he, Harry?" she asked, "he meant to murder Alexa and that's what bothers you. You're allowing your feelings to get the better of you."

Harry growled angrily and broke off his absent-minded stare at the fire's heart and glared at Hermione, "stop it now," he snapped, standing up, "I am sick of being condemned for whatever feelings I have for Alexa! There is nothing wrong with loving someone, yet you're treating me like I'm committing a cardinal sin. She isn't like an ordinary Vampire and I am sick of people not seeing that!"

With that, Harry rushed up the stone steps and into the boys' dormitory, where he threw himself face down on his bed and pummelled the mattress with his fists.

In truth, he was more furious with himself for admitting feelings that he was still confused about. Thus far, he had only experienced any love-like feelings for Cho Chang, who was singularly beautiful and generous beyond measure, but Alexa Flock had a certain greatness about her that extended far beyond her magical powers.

She had actually used her abilities for good and had battled Voldemort on numerous occasions. She had a strength and will that others could only aspire to, and yet beneath all that, she was kindhearted, caring, fiercely loyal and passionate about a cause worth fighting for.

Then, of course, she was beautiful. Not just seemly or pretty or attractive, but the kind of beautiful that inspired writers and poets. Her deadliness only emphasised her appeal and with such complex feelings, it tore Harry's heart into pieces when people were seen to act against her - like Malfoy and Dumbledore.

It was the latter that spurned him the most. How could the Headmaster, a figure with tremendous responsibility, place his students in danger by allowing the murderous son of a Deatheater to return? Draco had tried to kill Alexa. A completely inexcusable act.

Harry found himself completely alone until sleep embraced him. He hadn't even mustered the energy to change out of his robes.


	2. Chapter 2

"Harry?" Ron's voice permeated his dreams at seven o' clock the next morning, "everything alright?"

Disorientated at first, he sat up and rubbed his eyes as his friend looked down at him with concern furrowing his brow.

Eventually, Harry nodded and got up, quickly changing into a fresh pair of school robes.

After a hurried breakfast in the Great Hall, the Gryffindors and Slytherins congregated outside their History of Magic class, where Malfoy's jeering and taunting was dampened by the appearance of their Professor.

However Defence Against the Dark Arts greatly contrasted the harmony of the lesson prior.

The atmosphere was dense with nervous electricity as all the students took their usual seats and all eyes fell expectantly on the door that led to the teacher's office.

The seconds became minutes before the stern looking Professor Vas emerged, wearing the same shabby attire as he had the previous evening, minus the leather coat.

His hair was still unwashed and unruly, the only difference being the wire-rimmed glasses balanced daintily on his nose.

Rather than descending the stairs to welcome his class to a new year of study, the man merely leaned over the small balcony and pointed a dirty finger at the blackboard at the foot of the stairs.

It was covered with a hurried looking scrawl that they could barely read.

_Work for lesson one: On your own and in __absolute silence__, you are to turn to page 176 and begin making notes on Vampires, with particular emphasis on:_

_recognising the distinctive characteristics of a Vampire in human form_

_feeding habits and preferred hunting grounds_

_weaknesses_

_combat styles - magical or non-magical?_

_Homework, due next lesson:Research the most famous Vampires and their place in history._

When Professor Vas was sure that his class had read and understood his instructions,

he issued a disdainful sniff and turned on his heels, storming irritably back into his dark office and slamming the door behind him.

"_What_ was that?" Seamus Finnigan asked in an undertone as everyone stared stupidly at the closed office door, "is he all there?"

"I don't have a clue," Dean Thomas replied, completely dumbfounded.

"This isn't a lesson at all," Hermione grumbled in as loud a voice as she dared, "what about explaining our assessments and what we are required to know for our exams? A simple outline of the syllabus would suffice! This is what Umbridge used to make us do!"

Suddenly, a loud bang echoed around the room and the students looked up to see Professor Vas glaring down at them with a furious glint in his eyes, his lips curled at the corner into a snarl as he jabbed his finger at the blackboard again.

The students all realised their heinous mistake. '_Absolute silence_' was evidently a key component of the lesson.

With eyes cast down, there was the sound of rifling pages and the shuffling of bums in seats as they got themselves comfortable for a lengthy spell of mind-numbing work.

Only when Vas was satisfied that there would be no more disruptions did he cast a final loathing look around the room and returned to the depths of his office.

"See? Radical," Draco Malfoy muttered with an unusual element of pride in his voice, "just what we need."

Then there was silence.

When their hour was over, the bell rang down the corridor and the witches and wizards practically fell over themselves in their earnest to be free of the oppressive room.

The Slytherins forced their way through first, elbowing their way past first the Patel sisters and then Lee Jordan and Neville with disturbing ferocity.

Strangely, Draco hung back, wandering slowly to the front of the long classroom. What struck Harry as even more strange was that Professor Vas came out of his stinking dwelling to meet him.

"What's the matter, Draco?" Harry hissed, "need some more ideas on how to attack an innocent woman?"

"Mind your own business, Potty, because next time it might be you on the receiving end of a spell," Malfoy replied in as calm and cool a voice as Harry had ever heard.

Incensed, Harry was about to issue a scathing retort but Vas thrust that pathetic, commanding finger at the door in indication for him to get out.

He did so without comment, but not without concocting any number of reasons for Malfoy to want a private audience with the disgusting Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, all of them evil aswell as incredibly unlikely.

If Vas was a Deatheater undercover, Malfoy couldn't openly plot with him in the middle of the day and in a classroom belonging to the enemy.

When he reached the lunchtime feast, Hermione was busy airing her own opinions regarding their new Defence Against the Dark Arts regime, while Ron was trying his best to lose himself in his meal.

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed as he walked over.

He was thoroughly prepared for her to drag him into the conversation, but was surprised when she continued with, "there's a letter arrived late for you."

Next to his plate was a crisp white envelope with his name neatly printed on the front, aswell as his address within Hogwarts.

Without recognising the writing, he turned it over in his hands and looked at the purple wax seal that held the flap closed; the dragon with a column of fire spewing from its mouth.

Harry ripped the thick paper and took out the small notecard that lay within.

_Back home, all is well. Nothing bad to report. The Trans_y_lvanians are going to help. The first convoy will attempt a crossover in one month. Much to organise. Daily Prophet still up to its tricks, but I still have my office - for now. Fudge is paranoid again and now thinks _I'm_ plotting against him. Keep your ears to the ground, and if anything's amiss at Hogwarts, let me know. _

_Stay safe._

_A._

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, "she's fine," he said and passed the card to Hermione and Ron.

"We should tell her about Defence Against the Dark Arts," Hermione said, her eyes flicking from side to side as she read the neatly handwritten words, "maybe she'll be able to tell us something about Professor Vas."

"Like what, Hermione?" Ron snapped, "that he's a deranged psychopath? I think we've figured that out for ourselves!"

"No Ron, Hermione's right," Harry interjected, much to his red-headed friend's dismay, "Alexa said that if anything's amiss at Hogwarts we should tell her. The Order needs to know what's happening here from a student perspective. She may know something about him that could play to our advantage."

"Like what?" Ron asked, but neither Harry nor Hermione could answer.

In truth, they were trying to be optimistic while within, they were wracked with concern.

Vas was not normal, no matter what anyone said, and that made him dangerous. His general attitude towards his classes and his students was filled with utter contempt, and his personal presentation and hygiene made everyone's skin crawl.

Vas seemed to hate the world and everyone in it, and was obviously keen on alienating himself.

"I'll send Hedwig out to her today," Harry said and finished his lunch.

Care of Magical Creatures had been cancelled for the first few weeks for reasons unknown so they had some personal study times in the mornings of those days, and Harry took advantage of the opportunity to bring Alexa up to speed.

Wrapping himself up warm against the icy morning, he trudged across the sloping landscape to the Owlery, an imposing tower that resembled something out of a fairytale. This tower, however, was not guarded by ogres or dragons, and didn't even have a door.

Being careful not to slip on the damp, mossy steps, he passed through the doorway and wrinkled his nose at the strong smell of owl dirt.

Finding a clear piece of rock, he sat down and took out his quill and a scrap of parchment. The nib poised, he waited for words to flow but a brick wall erected in his mind, blocking all ideas that he could use.

To him and his fellows, the potential threat that Professor Vas posed seemed incredibly serious, but would Alexa see it the same? She had enough to concern herself with, what with Fudge and the Daily Prophet doing their damnedest to discredit her and all her supporters.

But then again, she had explicitly requested that she be told of anything out of the ordinary at Hogwarts.

With a nod of conviction, he shook the cold out of his fingers and began to write.

_Alexa,_

_Glad to hear that you're home safe and well, although Dumbledore sure did look exhausted at the feast last night. We were all surprised to see that Draco Malfoy is back this year. We thought he'd been expelled but his father has had him assessed at St. Mungo's, who've pronounced him fit and well enough to be back at Hogwarts this year. None of us are happy about it but no one stands a chance against the Malfoy family, least of all the Board of Governors._

_Then there's our new DADA teacher, Professor Vas. I don't know how to describe him but he never speaks in lessons or in the corridors, and writes all our instructions on the board before leaving us to get on with it. It's like we've got Umbridge back! He looks the perfect man to be a Deatheater, but I don't think he is. There's something about him that says he's not quite _that_ evil. Maybe you'll know something about him that we don't?_

_Best of luck with the convoy, I hope a bit of luck comes our way. Hogwarts is really cold and lonely without you. Give our regards to the rest of the League and the Order._

_Yours, Harry._

With a flourished signature, he concluded and surveyed his work. He was proud that he had managed to convey his worries without sounding too concerned, and his enquiries about Professor Vas sounded merely curious.

With a convoy coming across from Transylvania soon, he couldn't afford to distract her from her primary duty.

"Come Hedwig!" he called lightly into the rafters, where thousands of owls were perched calmly in their nooks, their feathers fluffed as the majority tried to sleep the cold away.

A high-pitched shriek of impertinence echoed from the highest point of the Owlery as a snowy owl swooped down to answer his call. The magnificent creature landed softly beside him and rumpled her feathers, evidently irritated at being disturbed.

"There's no need to be like that," he scolded her gently, "you can sleep as long as you want when you've delivered this."

He reached out a hand to pet his beloved friend, but she wasn't at all pleased with him, nipping his finger with her sharp beak.

"Fine, be that way," he mumbled, sucking at the blood spots. Carefully, he rolled up the note and pinned it to Hedwig's foot ring.

By the time the task was finished, she had softened towards him a little and even hopped onto his arm and rubbed up to his face when he raised her up and, with a goodbye squeak, she took off with a surge of speed and disappeared into the white clouds above.

Harry watched her go, happy that he had made contact with his mentor. Maybe now they could have some answers.

With very little effort at all, the Hogwarts students settled into their work and the weeks ticked by quite happily.

Alexa Flock had responded to Harry's letter with surprising speed, causing quite a stir amongst his table when Hedwig landed deftly between the toast and pumpkin juice almost half an hour after the other mail owls had left.

He tore open the response, ripping it off her leg ring without so much as a scrap of meat for her trouble.

While his eyes flicked to and fro across the beautiful script, she shed some feathers in annoyance and took off for the Owlery with a loud shriek of indignance.

"What's she said?" Hermione asked, trying to read the tiny writing over Harry's shoulder.

"Apparently our Professor is called Rader Vas, from Russia. He hails from a really remote region and has studied Defence Against the Dark Arts in quite an unusual and radical way, focussing more on dark creatures and the practical ways to kill them - without using magic. That sort of explains our homework on Vampires. But she says that he was the only competent applicant for the post that turned up. She did a little investigation for Dumbledore to see if there was anything about him that could be potentially threatening, but there was nothing. He hasn't even blown his nose the wrong way. He's just a recluse who's very experienced in his field."

"So that's that," Ron muttered, "we'll just have to put up with him and his weird ways if she says he's all there."

But Harry and Hermione were both still sceptical. It was a very easy task for magical folk to keep secrets if they wanted to, and in such a way that no one, not even the Auror League, could ever uncover them. This Rader Vas could be one such character.

"I just don't know what to think about all of this," Hermione muttered as she and Harry sat before the common room fire one night while Ron was in detention.

Harry looked up from his essay, mid-sentence, "what do you mean?"

"Well, all we're doing is researching evil creatures, many of which I've never heard of, and not how to perform defensive spells. We are living in dark and dangerous times at the moment, so Dumbledore should have hired a teacher skilled enough with magic to teach us," she replied, "we're not even learning anything and what little we do learn is atrociously biassed!"

"In what way?" Harry asked with a frown.

Hermione glared at him, "did our encounter with the Vampire Elders not teach you anything?" she barked, "Tavisham Nettleroot's opinion on Vampires is that they exist completely alone, and hunt the blood of pure individuals as a way of increasing their power, which we all know is a load of rubbish! He also says that their un-dead lives are free from rules and boundaries. The Vampires we have encountered have a governing body, rules, beliefs and superstitions, and are as normal as you or I."

"Apart from the fact that they're dead," Harry muttered.

"Well obviously!" Hermione retorted, "but the Vampires are proof that not everything that is classified as a dark art is evil. He's teaching us to go out into the world biassed."

Harry rolled his eyes, "in reality, who isn't biassed? I remember your reaction when we found out she was part Vampire, the same as I remember how I overreacted when I found out Alexa was in Slytherin. Everyone has their petty prejudices - it's part of being alive. The trick is to try and chose for ourselves, free from influences."

There was a long pause as Hermione simmered silently. He knew that she hated people answering back with a point of view she hadn't considered, but she was so passionate in her own knowledge that she sometimes forgot the faults of humanity - hers included.

"I do agree that we aren't learning defensive spells when we should be," he added in an attempt to soften his earlier blow. Hermione's opinions were not really meant to be gone against.

She heaved a heavy sigh, "it was much better when we had Alexa. She appreciated the subject and knew exactly how to teach it to those less enthusiastic. We all learned a lot from her."

Harry immediately began to boil with frustration, "but Alexa's not here," he snapped with the tiniest measure of resentment.

Not a single second went by without him missing her deeply, so much so that he felt diseased and the mere sight of her, however distant, would be his cure, "Rader Vas is, so we'll just have to make the most of it. It'll soon be Christmas."

This was mainly to reassure himself. In truth, the festive season was far enough away to be forgotten and all that he was clinging to was that the coming of the time-of-giving would bring Alexa's warm smile with it.

Soon the remaining weeks of term were filled with homework, lessons and Quidditch practise.

With the Weasley twins gone, Harry had the tough task of finding a pair of Beaters who matched their skill and talent.

Ron had fitted in nicely with the team but was still not as reliable as the departed Oliver Wood as a Keeper.

Practise sessions were fierce. Angelina and Katie were still as nimble with a broom as ever, but the team was more than just its Chasers.

Harry, as Captain, was dreading the time when the two girls would leave Hogwarts, because he would have to replace two of the strongest members of the team.

He auditioned many Gryffindors for the position of Beater One and Two, but most of them turned on their heels and ran away when the vicious Bludgers were released.

Then, just as he was about to call it a day and resign himself to the certainty that no one would be good enough to give the other teams a run for their money, he looked up to see Neville Longbottom walking across the pitch.

"Alright Harry?" he asked with a smile and a respectful nod.

Harry frowned in puzzlement, "Neville, what are you doing out here?"

"I've come to try out as Beater."

Harry Potter fought his sudden, violent impulse to laugh, mainly because he saw that Neville was serious, "um, Neville mate," Harry fumbled with words to try and let his friend down gently but knew that it was hopeless to try because his doe eyes were cast down to the floor and his shoulders slumped with disappointment.

In truth, Harry was surprised that he had thought to try out because Neville wasn't the most ideal candidate for the position; he was tall and lanky like Fred and George, but his broad shoulders made him easily overbalanced, and he was notoriously clumsy.

His first encounter with a broom had resulted in him falling twenty feet and breaking his wrist after losing control of the broom and being carried off by it in a panic.

"Please Harry!" Neville begged, looking forlorn, "give me a chance! Let me prove that I'm not a complete, bumbling idiot!"

His gut told him to send Neville away, but he didn't have the heart to. Poor Neville Longbottom was a failure at all things academic - Herbology excluded - and always made a clown of himself no matter the occasion, and desperately wanted to change the general opinion about him, so Harry was compelled to nod his head, regretting it already.

"OK Neville. Show me what you've got."

The Quidditch Captain walked over to the box emblazoned with the gold and red Gryffindor colours and opened the heavy lid, revealing the burgundy Quaffle, and the two angry Bludgers, which were strapped down with heavy chains and were by no means happy about it.

Harry passed Neville the cracked and chipped Beater's bat and took a deep breath, "get ready," he said apprehensively, "I'm letting the Bludger out."

With that, he flipped the catch on the chain and it sprang open.

The Bludger took off into the air with a hungry grunt and disappeared in the dark grey clouds almost instantly.

Neville swung his arm back in readiness and took a stance.

Harry watched with the keen, searching eye of a Seeker and just when the Bludger was about to smash into its target's face, Neville lunged in a smooth arc at the vicious ball, the bat smashing into the side of it and sending it spinning towards the scarlet hoops in the distance.

_Bong_! came the magically amplified sound that signalled a score.

Harry was amazed, "Neville! That was great!"

Neville Longbottom turned and grinned broadly at Harry, "I've been practising over summer," he announced with a pride that brightened his face like the sun itself was shining from his features.

"It's paid off," Harry replied, "I'll need you to come for a second try-out with the rest of the team, but that's mainly to see how you'll fair handling a broom aswell as the Bludgers. But I'm really impressed."

Neville practically skipped back to the castle and Harry felt guilty for wanting to turn him away without giving him a chance. Even though Neville had proved himself to be brave and courageous in times of hardship or strife, it was very easy to see him in the light of a bumbling, clumsy oaf.

But this was very unfair, because when they had gone to 'rescue' Sirius, an event that Harry fought to block from his memory, Neville and Ginny - even Luna Lovegood - had demonstrated immeasurable nerve and had battled the Deatheaters with a competence that had surprised him.

Growing up in dangerous times had taught them well and Harry was proud that just maybe he had played a small part in their transformation.

"You should have seen him!" he gushed to Ron that night as they got ready for bed in the quiet dormitory, "he was terrific!"

"It was late and everyone else was asleep as Ron cast his eyes round, settling on Neville, who was snoring merrily, "who'd have thought that Neville would be good at Quidditch?"

"He surprised even me," Harry replied, cuddling down beneath the quilt to fend off the biting chill that was rapidly settling in, "he's made my job easier though," he muttered in a deeper tone, "just one Beater to find before practise starts."

"When _does_ it start?" Ron asked with a loud yawn, but Harry's snoring was already echoing around the high rafters, dreams flooding his tired mind.

Harry always looked forward to his dreams. During the night was the only time that he could be with Alexa again, without limitations or consequences.

Her voice whispered to him. She even appeared to him in ways that seemed so real that he had to convince his dream self that he was sleeping.

No sooner had his eyes shut, she was there beside him on the bed, her head propped on her elbow. Those eyes stared at him, bewitching him as her Sirenism worked its entrancing spell.

He could feel her, smell her, but he could never allow himself to believe any part of it. It wasn't real, just a creation by his own desires.

Alexa Flock didn't love him as he loved her. But still, every night he hurried to bed so that he could see her in his dreams and pretend that his dreams were reality.

But even though she appeared before him in this dream, it felt strangely different as if even in his imaginary reality he was being forced to see things for what they were.

He couldn't touch her. He couldn't feel her. It was like she didn't even exist...

"Harry!"

It was Alexa's mouth that formed his name, but it wasn't her voice.

"Harry!"

The same again, but the Auror merely smiled and faded away into nothing. He desperately tried to call her back, but she was somewhere far from him where his voice couldn't penetrate.

"Harry!"

In a flash of light and colour, he opened his eyes. Slightly disorientated, it took him a few moments to recognise his surroundings, especially the unusual presence of Hermione.

She was stood over him with terror in her eyes and was relentlessly shaking him by the shoulder, her knuckles pearly white from her strong grip.

"Hermione...what?" he mumbled, blinking wildly to try and shake off the sleep that was still beckoning.

From her panicked expression, all thoughts of his dream were swept away.

"Harry, come and look at this!" she barked and grabbed his hand, half dragging and half leading him out of the dormitory and onto the cold, stone landing that was lit only by a single, leaded window that looked out onto the vast, slopping landscape surrounding Hogwarts.

"What is it, Hermione?" he snapped grumpily, rubbing his hot, dry eyes with the back of his hand.

"Look. Watch," she hissed and led him to the window, which he proceeded to look out of with lacklustre curiosity.

He was more annoyed at her for interrupting his very strange dream. After all, Miss Granger was known to overreact on occasions.

"Hermione..." he began with a sigh and attempted to move away, but was pulled back into position with a neck-snapping jerk.

"Please, just watch and prove that I'm not mad," she replied and he knew that he had very little choice.

The world outside appeared completely normal. There was a light frosting of ice on the grass, paths and tree branches, and the great lake seemed peacefully still.

A flock of migrating birds passed by overhead as the faint tendrils of light appeared over the horizon.

The tranquillity and stillness was marked by a hare lolloping across the grass with a carefree air. This amazed Harry, because he thought that only magical creatures existed so close to Hogwarts castle, attracted by its magical atmosphere that nurtured all like-souls.

But there was nothing out of the ordinary that could have sparked Hermione's panic, now scribed deeply across her face.

"Hermione, there's nothing here," Harry said in softer tones, given her obvious distress.

Suddenly she let out a great gasp and pointed a trembling finger at the window where a dark figure could be seen making its way down the mighty castle wall opposite.

"What the hell is that?" Harry gasped with shock, squinting at the window in amazement.

Twenty feet away from their window, clinging to the wall like some sort of lizard, was a figure completely clothed in black. He glanced about, clearly contemplating and pondering over his task, before setting off, climbing down the sheer and grip-less wall with the ease of a black widow spider.

Harry and Hermione exchanged glances of horror at the technique of the man, viewing him as a man purely because of his physique.

But he behaved more like a snake, skittering about the wall with his head towards the ground in defiance of gravity.

It sent cold shivers down Harry's spine just watching the creature's progress, as rapid as it was.

The wall was perfectly formed with not a single brick out of place, so hand and foot holds were non-existent, but he crawled down the wall nevertheless, until all too soon, he disappeared from sight.

"You see?" Hermione shrieked in as quiet a voice as she could manage, "where the hell is he going?"

Harry looked blankly at her, unable to come to an appropriate answer that was even remotely plausible.

The creature had managed to crawl down a sheer face without any hand or foot holds and had avoided falling to its death.

A chill descended around them at the thought of such a person coming and going at leisure.

"Look, there it is again!" Hermione exclaimed, and the pair crushed themselves against the glass to get a clearer view.

Sure enough, the cloaked figure was pounding across the grass at speed, hurtling in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. Its coat billowed out behind as the wind beat it, its skinny legs that fought their way across the grass almost a blur.

Only now could they see the shoulder-length hair peeking out from beneath the black hat.

"I don't believe it!" Harry exclaimed, his breath misting the cold window pane, "that's Rader Vas!"

"Impossible!" Hermione replied, watching the macabre looking Professor until he vanished in the thick and dense forest encircling Hogwarts, "where can he be going?"

Harry fixed her with a look, "more to the point, why?" he replied, the two friends casting their eyes out of the window again, following the path he'd taken across the grounds.

It may be a day for lessons, but it was unlikely that someone like Vas would have friends or relatives to visit, his generally hostile manner driving people away rather than enticing them to get to know him.

Now even Alexa's testimony on the mysterious Professor's behalf was thrown into question. Did the Ministry really know as much about him as it thought?

"What are we looking at?" Ron's voice startled the jumpy teenagers, who were too focussed on their mystery to hear footsteps approaching.

"Honestly, Ronald!" Hermione exclaimed, "don't creep up on us like that!"

"Sorry," he mumbled grumpily, rubbing his eyes, "didn't realise I was being so quiet. You usually moan at me for being too noisy. So, what's going on?"

Harry and Hermione led the way downstairs where they sat on the sofas in front of the stoked fire and there they described Rader's early morning ventures.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered when their tale concluded, "you don't think he's some kind of Vampire do you?"

Hermione shook her head vigorously, "Alexa Flock is the only breed of Vampire who can go out in daylight, any other would turn to dust. Even the Vampire Elders, with all their combined strength and power, can't break the rules of their being."

"Could Vas have found a way to do it, though?" Harry asked, thinking that Ron's idea was the most explanatory of what they had seen.

He had seen the agility of a Vampire first hand and was convinced that only an un-dead could scale a sheer wall without falling to their death.

Hermione glared at him, "whatever Rader is, he _isn't_ a Vampire," she barked ferociously, "Alexa is one-of-a-kind, no other Vampire can behave the way she can."

"Then what is he?" Harry asked, both his and Ron's eyes turned to her vast intellect for answers.

But she couldn't give her friends what they wanted because she didn't know, "maybe we'll find something in the library," she thought out loud.

"And what do you expect to find in there, Hermione?" Ron demanded, her bookworm ways getting on his last nerve, "you can't find everything in books!"

Hermione scowled at him as if he had just announced he was joining the Deatheaters, "and _you_ can't go round thinking that every answer to a problem like this is that a person is a Vampire. Conventional Vampires cannot go out during the day! That is a _fact_! Go and ask the Vampire Elders if you want, but they will just tell you the same!" she shrieked in a blazing fury, "not everything is as simple as you'd like it."

Harry and Ron exchanged a look as Hermione became quiet, glaring at them with looks that were enough to kill. She was right, of course, but naturally no one wanted to admit it, but they seemed to be out of logical explanations.

"Alright," Harry said in a defeated tone, holding his hands up in surrender, "we'll have breakfast and then we'll raid the library for ideas."

Hermione sighed with relief, "thank you," she said, pleased that the boys were taking her advice again, "you boys seem to love jumping to conclusions to avoid old fashioned research!"

But when they reached the Great Hall, all the pupils were in such uproar that the din could be heard two floors up.

"What the bloody hell is going on in there?" Ron exclaimed as they walked through the massive doorway.

The Slytherins were making the normal nuisance of themselves, throwing missiles the width and length of the room and enchanting knives and forks to batter and puncture anyone who dared walk passed.

They seemed to be in higher spirits than was normal for the Deatheaters-in-waiting.

The other Hogwarts houses were huddled together with their heads bent over a spread of paper that was partly soaked with grease from the bacon and sausages beneath.

It was clear that whatever the paper was, no one was in the slightest happy about it.

"Harry!" Lee Jordan shouted and beckoned the three of them over to where a gap in the conferring crowd had appeared, "you really should see this!"

Harry slotted into the circle beside Colin Creevey, with Ron and Hermione pushing in on his right, "what's the fuss about?" he asked, merely assuming that Gryffindor had been docked fifty points or that the house elves in the mighty Hogwarts kitchen were producing sub-standard pumpkin juice again.

But any one of the possibilities would have been greatly welcome compared to the real headline news of the morning.

The paper they were all scrutinising in earnest was the morning edition of the Daily Prophet, the front page opened up for all to see.

Harry's eyes were initially drawn to the moving picture of Alexa Flock in complete battle gear, her arms folded across her chest. She smiled up at the camera with entrancing gaiety that gave the headline its deep tragedy.

Only Hermione's horrified gasp made the bold words drive their searing blades into his brain, where they froze every impulse and rotted every neuron.

_Alexa Flock missing, presumed dead_.

In that single moment, Harry Potter felt his heart freeze as the horror descended upon him like a dense, black shroud.

The letters swirled and swam about the page, losing all comprehension. He felt as though the shock had somehow detached him from his body and he almost witnessed himself, his skin taking on a sickly pallor and his eyes glazing over as if he was in a trance.

With the amount of death the young teenager had been exposed to, it would be supposed that he was used to dealing with grief, but this was completely different. Alexa had meant so much to him and to all who had come into contact with her, and the mere intonation that her life had been untimely extinguished was too much for their troubled minds.

The only beacon of light and hope had disappeared and now Voldemort's threat seemed even more ominous.

"What happened, Seamus?" Lee enquired in a slightly choked voice, and Seamus began to read from the article in his laid back, Irish drone,

"_Ministry officials admit to fears that one of its most influential and eminent_ _members is dead. Alexa Flock, founder of the League of Aurors and Britain's singularly most powerful witch, disappeared while on secret business at an undisclosed location. Accompanying her were her four most senior members of the League; Imelda Whippet, Jacques Molay, Ingrid Greenickle and Courtney Lovelace. They too are missing also._

"_When interviewed regarding Miss Flock's current activities, Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge had this to say: 'we will not speculate about the circumstances of Miss Flock's disappearance. However, her behaviour of late has become increasingly erratic and she has developed a morbid fascination with Vampires. In this case, we can neither confirm nor deny any involvement she had with the current migration of the Vampire clans as a result of the migration restriction being lessened, and we advise the public not to panic. We do have suspicions that the clans may have been responsible for her disappearance and that of her escort. Rest assured that we are doing all we can to locate all who are missing. Alexa Flock has been a great asset to the Ministry over the years and we will not rest until she is found.'_"

Harry paled with each word Seamus read, especially with regards to Cornelius Fudge. How could that pompous little twerp say such things about Alexa when he was trying to discredit her at every turn?

Since she had become more secretive about her whereabouts and activities, he had convinced himself that she was trying to turn the wizarding community and the Ministry itself against him, and he'd proven it with his cheap blow regarding the Vampires.

It was Voldemort who was behind her disappearance and to assume anything else was sheer foolishness.

"How awful," Hermione muttered, shaking her head in disbelief.

It was very easy for all of them to forget how dangerous her job was because of her immense power and abilities, and her alliance with the Transylvanians had doubled the risk to her life.

Somehow Voldemort had uncovered the Order's plans and had exploited their blissful ignorance to dispose of Alexa.

"How can they talk like that about her?" Seamus snapped, his eyes gleaming with fury, "all that stuff about Vampires! It's all rubbish! They should be after You-Know-Who. That's who's responsible!"

Neville heaved a disheartened sigh, "well, that's it then. If he's managed to get rid of her then the rest of us don't stand much chance. She was so powerful, but I guess it doesn't matter in the end."

"She isn't dead!" Harry exploded, his scar almost glowing red as his anger and helplessness boiled over the surface, "Voldemort couldn't kill her with the Killing Curse! She's alive!"

With that, he turned on his heels and fled, barging past people still filing into the Great Hall for breakfast.

He didn't care when he heard their loud protestations. He couldn't believe that, of all people, Alexa Flock was dead.

Harry didn't stop until he was on the bank of the great lake, the surface of the water glistening and shimmering in the early morning sun.

The sky was clear and everything was so crisp and fresh and new. Yet a haze of shadow had fallen over his eyes, one that he couldn't shake off.

How could Alexa be dead? It was impossible given how long she had lived and all the tricks she had learned. Plus, she was a Vampire, a fact that he had almost blurted out in front of everyone and was glad that he hadn't. It would only taint his friends' memories of her if she was gone.

A single, lonely tear dripped from his right eye as he gazed out across the water, that stretched out as far as the eye could see, beyond the mountains that channelled the sun's rays towards him.

_How can the world be so beautiful today?_ he thought to himself, but then a tiny tendril of thought whispered to him.

_Perhaps it's because she isn't dead, and the sun is shining because it can still watch such a great life carry on._

Then, deep within him, something began to stir in his gut - a faint wisp of hope that Alexa would return to her beloved Hogwarts.

She was at her most fierce when she was backed into a corner, seemingly with nowhere to go, a trait he had witnessed for himself when she had rescued him from Voldemort's evil clutches.

Coupled with that, she was a warrior and therefore wasn't at all likely to admit defeat, even if the odds against her were stacked high. She would always prevail so long as people kept their love and respect for her in their hearts.

Harry felt that love warm his chilled soul and allowed it to fill him up until it brought the memory of her smiling, happy face to the forefront of his mind.

"_Calumtabonectra_," he whispered, remembering the Auror location spell from their tutorials last year.

He didn't know what had made the word leave his lips, but the moment it had, Harry felt as though his soul itself left his body in search of her.

Painted on the underside of his lids, so vivid were his magical visions, Harry watched as landscapes passed at break-neck speed, carrying him on a path he did not recognise, not even when his journey stopped in a great clearing hundreds of metres wide but flanked on all sides by dense and dangerous woodland.

He didn't recognise the place from anywhere, not even a distant memory or picture, but he couldn't mistake the metallic sweetness of blood on the air and the sharp, stinging scent of scorched flesh that had turned rancid, like hundred year old corpses had been burned by the flames of Hell itself.

Vampires.

What he was looking at was the clearing where the convoy was supposed to land and where everything had gone wrong.

_Find her, find Alexa_, he urged his failing strength, but he could not drag the last morsel of energy from his body all those miles away, and so was sucked back into his fleshy confines with fewer answers than when he had started.

His scar was tingling again, a proven warning that Voldemort was getting closer to his goals, and the Order's best hope was lost somewhere. Not dead, just lost.

He refused to lose faith, even though he could feel it slowly seeping away.

The sudden crunch of snapping twigs instantly attracted his attention and he whirled round in surprise to see Professor Dumbledore walking towards him.

"You're going to be late for Transfiguration," the old Headmaster said, merely a statement as opposed to a request to leave.

"I don't care," Harry replied, turning back to face the headwinds that made his hair dance through its turbulent fingers, "I saw the Prophet headline."

"Ah, I see," Dumbledore muttered.

"It's horrible. She's out there somewhere cold, alone and hurt, trying to crawl back to us."

Dumbledore managed a small smile, "you don't believe Fudge's take on things do you, Harry?"

He looked back at the old man's face and managed a smile of his own, "no more than you do," he replied.

"Then you are learning," the Headmaster replied, "something happened in the clearing that night. An ambush, most likely. It is safe and convenient to think that all are dead, but you and I both know that Alexa is not so easily defeated. The Order is out there now, searching for a sign of her, and if she is alive then they will find her."

"So the clearing's been searched?" Harry asked, his eyes brightening.

Dumbledore nodded and he almost skipped with excitement, "and she wasn't there?"

"The bodies of her four Aurors were, tragically, found dead from magical poison spores. No Vampires were around, and close inspection of the woodland proved that they were killed, we found the ashes. Alexa was _not_ among the dead."

"Then she's alive!" Harry shrieked, life returning to his eyes and a little colour plumping up his cheeks as he smiled.

But Dumbledore was still very grim, his eyes cast down and his shoulders hunched with this new burden, "Harry, it is doubtful. We chose the location based on its difficulty to find. The fact that Deatheaters found it does not bode well for our future endeavours, but the area is dense in woodland for miles. It is full of an all manner of dangerous and bloodthirsty beasts. If Alexa survived the ambush and began a long journey home injured, she wouldn't last long."

Harry's expression darkened, "you don't want her to be alive do you?" he growled menacingly, "you're just like Fudge. You feel threatened by her power and influence. You knew that this was going to happen and that's why you wanted her to get the Transylvanians because you knew that she wouldn't survive!"

"Harry, how could you think that?" his old mentor exclaimed, without demonstrating any offence, "you couldn't fathom my feelings for her! I saw her when she had just lost her parents and when her brother isolated himself. I have never, in all my life, seen such a tortured soul as hers, forever haunted by the murder of her parents and subsequent death of her brother. I allowed her to continue her Vampire traditions and lifestyle in secret in an attempt to keep something of her family alive in her, and I protected her. Alexa Flock is like a daughter to me, the one I never had, and for years I have loved her as such. You couldn't be more wrong in thinking that I feel threatened by her. If she wanted my position, I would willingly surrender it to her. She is more deserving, Harry. But she is in a position of power and respect that I could never achieve. Why would she degrade herself when her abilities need a far greater challenge?" Albus issued a long pause in which he looked piercingly at Harry's changing expression. Gone was his defiance and anger, all that was left was pain, "I just don't want to see you hurt, Harry. We have all tried to warn off any feelings that you have for her because of this moment. Please, in spite of the evidence, prepare for the worst as I have. It is far better to be surprised than disappointed."

With that, the old and wise Hogwarts Headmaster turned and walked back up the hills to the castle, and Harry was left alone to contemplate.

He knew that it was unfair of him to think so ill of Dumbledore, but the ambush was playing on his mind. He had seen how formidable the woodland had been, and how isolated, so how had Alexa and her Aurors been found? Could they have been followed? Surely one of them would have realised, but if they'd been so consumed with their task that they were ignorant to unwanted company, it could have caused failure of the mission.

The only other possibility was that Voldemort had somehow gained prior knowledge of the location, but he didn't dare entertain the idea for long.

Instead, he clung to the slim hope that his friend was alive and trudged wearily back into the castle, the spell having drained more of his strength than he had realised. His legs were trembling so much with the effort of walking up and down the hills surrounding Hogwarts that he almost collapsed when he reached the safety of the courtyard.

He was sick with fatigue and desperately wanted to crawl back in bed, but with Transfiguration almost over, he had to make his way down the dank corridors to the dungeon, where the ever-torturous Snape was waiting to conduct another mind-numbing lesson.

Harry managed to stumble into the mighty hallway beyond the oak doors, but all strength disappeared and he was forced to sit on the bottom stair, clinging to the stone banister for support.

He took several deep, calming breaths but his heart was racing, beating frantically against his rib-cage, as if he'd just competed in a fierce Quidditch match.

"Are you alright, Potter?" one of his fellow Gryffindors enquired, without pausing to wait for an answer.

Not that they would have got one because his exhaustion had turned into a great, retching pain throughout him that burned from his toes right up to his hair roots. No extremity escaped. It was as if someone had ripped open his skin and injected hot lava into his tissues one molecule at a time.

Then suddenly a force invaded his mind, one so great that he was almost lifted from the bottom stair and flung to the top.

Vague pictures caught his mind's eye but then disappeared as he got it in sight. Trees everywhere, almost darkness because their trunks were so close together. Gone. The howl of a distant beast that got nearer with each wasted second. Gone. The sound of a body being dragged across the ground and two pale hands slipped into view. Then that too faded into nothing.

He waited, holding his breath, for another image but none followed and the burning pain left him. Harry lay sprawled on the bottom step panting, trying to remember what he had seen and heard.

For a moment, he thought that Voldemort had burrowed into his mind again, re-establishing the psychic bond that he had severed after Sirius had died, but his scar wasn't hurting.

If anything, his fatigue was being absorbed, as if whatever or whoever had sent him the visions were giving him the strength he needed to act on what he had seen.

Carefully and tentatively, Harry climbed to his feet and looked about him, almost disorientated. Then a loud shriek set his nerves on edge again,

"Harry!"

It was Hermione again. She and Ron were coming down the stairs with their classmates, having been dismissed from Transfiguration slightly early, "are you alright?" she asked concernedly.

"I'm fine," he said, still dazed and confused about his strange visions, "just tired."

"We saw you talking to Dumbledore by the lake, that's why we didn't follow," she continued, "what did he say?"

Harry's eyes turned flint-like as he looked at her, "we may as well think of her as dead," he snapped cruelly, "if she somehow survived, she won't stay healthy for long."

"That's impossible," Ron muttered, "the Prophet said 'presumed dead'."

"Well we'd best start believing it," Harry retorted, his feelings mashing around inside him, "there was an ambush and they killed everyone. We're on our own."

He had managed to convince himself that the images he had seen were from during the attack.

"Don't say that, Harry," Hermione said, tears welling in the corners of her green eyes, "they may find her."

"No they won't!" he shouted, "they've tried and they can't!"

"You look awful, mate," Ron said, "why don't you go and lie down for a bit, we'll tell Snape you're not feeling up to it."

"Why is everyone so concerned about how I am?" he barked, "I said I'm fine, Ron. I'm not the one to worry about. I'm not the one in the wilderness where no one will find me!"

"Harry, you're not making any sense," Hermione said with a confused frown, "who's lost?"

"Alexa, and no one will find her. She'll die."

With that, he turned his wide, insane eyes away and hurried up the stairs.

The visions had scared him because of their unknown origin and he was anxious about someone entering his mind without him being able to stop them. There were so many secrets locked in his mind that could be used for evil and he couldn't allow those secrets to be hijacked.

"Harry, you can't keep pushing us away!" Hermione shouted after him, "please, just talk to us!"

But her protests went unheard.

Harry knew that he was making precious little sense, but he was so confused. It was as if his soul had been wrenched in two.

He completely believed with his whole heart that his mentor was alive, but he was afraid to hope. If Dumbledore was right about anything, it was that it's better to be surprised than disappointed.

His strange visions still played on his mind though, and who they had been sent by.

He trudged through the labyrinths of the school corridors and eventually found himself outside the mighty library. The scent of knowledge and the written word enticed him inside, even though, by now, he was too late for Potions to be excused and was likely to receive a detention from Snape amongst the morning mail.

He slipped passed the old librarian with averted eyes, fully aware that he would receive some sharp words from her given what happened the last time he dared step over her threshold.

For the next hour, he lost himself in the winding columns of books, trying desperately to locate something on the subject of visions or foresight. But it proved to be exceptionally difficult.

Alchemy, Herbology, Astronomy, Divination and Palmistry and other woolly disciplines hindered his progress, but just as he was about to heave an exasperated sigh and abandon his task, he happened upon an interesting old volume bound in black dragon hide and fastened with a leather ribbon that was ribbed with veins of deep crimson.

"Roderick Fargleheart's _Enchanted Minds_," Harry thought out loud as he unwound the ribbon and opened the rubbery front cover.

The parchment was thick and yellow from all the passing years, the edges of the pages crumbling as he touched them.

But there were whole sections dedicated to what Fargleheart had termed 'mental imagery' and how to tell the difference between the visions of a Seer and those that were sent via a unique psychic bond.

The former was very rare, but the latter even more so because people rarely had the power of mind to conjure such images and invade someone's mind with them.

Completely captured by curiosity with only the contents page, Harry carried the heavy, dusty volume to a nearby table, squeezing in between two great piles of books organising themselves onto the shelves.

It was there that he spent the remaining hours of the day, missing even lunch and dinner in his eagerness to digest as much information about visions as he could.

Fargleheart's research completely enthralled his troubled mind, easing his nervousness with just a single sentence; '_images that enter the recipient's mind without pain, nightmare or subsequent malady are generally from someone that the recipient holds very close to his being and are meant to inform or reassure_'.

It didn't take Harry long to determine that, at least for the moment, Alexa was alive, for only she had the magical strength to create and send images to him.

With a smile of elation and relief, he leapt up, leaving the book on one of the enchanted piles, and made to leave the library.

But just as he was about to turn away, a sinister title caught his eye. _The Bloodbath - The Grisly Tales_.

He stared helplessly at the mottled brown leather, entranced by the flowing script. Just as it was about to be sorted onto the shelf, Harry snatched it from the top of the pile, a spark of electricity shooting through his arms and down his body.

It set every nerve alive and he felt that he would drop the heavy book from trembling as some mysterious magic infused him.

Since the visions first appeared, he felt somehow more sensitive to the magical energy that surrounded everything in Hogwarts, and the magic in the cover of this book awoke the thousands of screams of all the Vampires that the Chimeras had killed during the Bloodbath.

His fingers burned as if the flames of Hell were trying to claim his life as it had claimed theirs, and he felt the pain that had consumed their souls at that final moment. But he knew that this book could contain secrets regarding the Chimeras that had, so far, evaded the eyes of the Order and that was like a beacon of hope for the future.

Quickly glancing around to check that no one was watching, Harry slipped the book into his bag and hurried out of the library, narrowly avoiding conflict with the librarian as he flew from the room.

But the salvation of Gryffindor tower was delayed by the appearance of Draco Malfoy round a corner.

"Rushing around is bad for you, Potter," he hissed, venom dripping from his menacing words, "you never know what trouble you'll run into."

In the distance, Harry heard the strangled cries of a poor, defenceless second year Hufflepuff that had fallen victim to intimidation from the heinous Crabbe and Goyle.

"Sod off, Malfoy," Harry barked and made to push passed him but the lanky, white-blonde Slytherin pushed back harder.

Malfoy sneered at him, his lopsided grin baring his teeth almost in a snarl, "sounds to me like someone's testy because a certain Vampire's been dusted at last. Good riddance if you ask me."

Harry froze, his blood running cold in his veins, "what Vampire?" he asked, trying to remain as free from reaction as possible even though he knew precisely who Malfoy was referring to.

"Come on Potter, don't act thick," he replied, "we both know who I'm talking about and it's lucky she's lasted this long."

"You're mad," Harry snapped, "as if Dumbledore would employ a Vampire, knowing how feared they are!"

"Ah well, I figured you'd say that but it won't work. Her secret's out on a big scale. As a matter of fact, my father has just had an interesting discussion with the Governors, and Dumbledore isn't too popular for endangering all of us by hiring a Vampire to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, of all things. It's sick! No doubt he'll be getting the sack any day now."

Harry snorted, "has he bribed them like he did last time? Has he threatened to kill their families if they don't do what he wants?"

"He didn't need to," Draco replied with that same infuriating, knowing smirk that Harry wanted to swipe off his face, "there's a lot of fear about Vampires at the moment, and if you were acquainted with those with a certain level of power you would know that. The Governors just accepted it as if they'd always known, and the fact that she was allowed to teach here doesn't bode well for the old fool."

"You honestly expect everyone to believe what your father says when everyone knows you're a family of Deatheaters?" Harry replied, smirking.

"Funny because Fudge believed him," Malfoy said in as calm and level a tone as Harry had ever heard.

"Your father told Fudge that Alexa's a Vampire?" he asked with such shock that couldn't be disguised, and he had no energy left to try.

Malfoy's grin broadened, "nice that you've stopped protesting her innocence, Potter. You're forgetting that I knew for most of last year and just wanted to end her filthy, disgusting existence. I almost succeeded but someone decided to step in like some kind of fairytale knight. But I knew the information would come in useful at some point, and so it has. I tell you, Fudge was _very_ interested."

"He'll never believe that she's evil after all the good she's done."

"You'd think that, but sadly not. Effective immediately, if Alexa Flock somehow survives whatever killed her little friends and so much as sets foot in the Ministry, she'll be staked on sight."

Harry was consumed with gut-wrenching horror, "they can't do that!" he shrieked, panic-stricken.

"Oh, but they can - and will. The order's out, Potter. Fudge was even concerned that her evil had corrupted the Auror League and has disbanded it pending further investigation. By morning, Alexa Flock will be a wanted fugitive with a price on her dust, and no one is left to help her. Fudge has even demanded a top-to-bottom search of Hogwarts in case she survived and Dumbledore is harbouring her."

"They'll never find her," Harry replied with feigned confidence, "and just because the League is gone doesn't mean that her Aurors will abandon her. They know that she isn't evil and no one will stop them from finding her."

Malfoy issued a low, condescending laugh, "how naive, Potter," he said with a glint of triumph in his eyes, "it's over. You may as well give up fighting. She's as good as dead!"

"Then Voldemort's achieved his goal, then," Harry snapped menacingly, "the Chimeras will rise, unchallenged and unbeatable. Congratulations, Malfoy."

"You've been reading too many fairytales, Potter. Chimeras are an urban legend."

Harry shook his head, "no, not an urban legend. Does your master honestly believe that he'll be able to control them? They're Hell-beasts, bent on death and destruction that won't stop until the blood of every living creature is spilled. What victory will you have then when you're all dead? The Purebloods' purge will be complete then, I suppose?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes and turned away, summoning Crabbe and Goyle, who had completed their terrorism, "what makes you think that discrediting Alexa once and for all wasn't his goal? The complete annihilation of her achievements? Not everything is as bad as you expect."

"And not everything is as simple as that," Harry retorted sharply, glaring malevolently at his nemesis, "we _will_ save Alexa and we _will_ stop you, whatever you're planning."

"Strong words, Potty Potter, but you don't scare me," Draco replied, blinking lazily and disinterestedly at him from his safe haven between Crabbe and Goyle.

"Well, I should," he barked, "someone's got to put you all in your place."

The three Slytherins exchanged looks and guffawed in great, bellowing peels, "_you're_ going to put _us_ in our place?" Malfoy shrieked when he had regained a little composure, "just because you've got that scar, you think you're something special!"

A sudden streak of light sliced through the air and singed a lock of Malfoy's hair, "really?" Harry asked with a smug grin, tucking his wand back in his trouser pocket.

Shocked, Draco dabbed at his slightly scorched sideburn to check for an open wound, "you'll pay for that, Potter!" he shouted, unnerved with Harry's speed.

With a sharp jerk, he snatched his wand from his own pocket and jabbed it at Harry viciously.

A stream of green sparks surged towards him, but he remembered Alexa's tutorials well and conjured a defensive shield that defused Malfoy's jinx effortlessly.

Slightly surprised at his opponent's abilities, Malfoy sent a rapid succession of jinxes and curses Harry's way, while his two henchmen cheered him on.

The defensive shield held strong and negated all of the spells, while Harry managed to sneak a few curses in, his wand flicking to and fro with the precision of a master wizard.

Malfoy was almost beaten down by his opponent's startling stamina.

"What book have you stolen those moves from?" Malfoy gasped and spluttered, his energy almost depleted, "has Granger been tutoring you?"

Harry grinned and shook his head, his wand aimed right between the snivelling coward's eyes, "been getting lessons from a Vampire," he replied, "an exemplary Auror, as a matter of fact."

Draco issued a resounding cough, "figured those sly tricks belonged to _that_," he spat vehemently, "you aren't smart enough to come up with your own stuff."

With that, he cast a silent spell that descended on Harry like a concrete wall, crushing his body with bone-grinding mass, "did she teach you to ward off unpleasant spells before they killed you?"

He stood over Harry, glaring with triumph, his wand trained on his sweat-beaded temple. The feel of the sharp, blunted tip driving into his skull was a refreshing tickle compared to the burning agony of Malfoy's curse.

"_Cruccio_," the heinous whelp whispered and white hot sparks of electricity surged through Harry's skeletal muscles.

Beyond the pain, he felt a strange vibrating run through his mind, as if a spectral hand had been placed on his head and a voice whispered in his ear, '_stay strong. You can do it_.'

"Alexa taught me more than you'll ever know," he gasped and the words '_Finite Incantatem_' echoed through his being.

The Torture Curse dissolved into nothing, much to Malfoy's astonishment, and Harry flicked a disarming charm at the Slytherin before a defence could be mounted, "she taught me that people like you will never prevail when there are those around still willing to fight."

"Strong words from someone who's _dead_!" Draco barked with venom as he reached for the discarded wand in earnest.

Harry shook his head very definitely, "Alexa Flock is alive and will soon return to those who wait for her. _We_ won't turn our backs on her like Fudge and the Ministry did."

"Next you'll be saying that love conquers all," he scoffed, "because that's why you always defend her despite what she is. You're in love with a Vampire!"

"She's isn't just a Vampire," Harry replied with a smile, "she's leader of the Auror League and the most powerful Auror in the country. Fudge can't take that away from her no matter how hard he tries."

"She'll turn on you," Malfoy blurted out, "it's her nature, and I'll be glad when she turns those fangs on your neck!"

"It would be an honour to die by her hand. I'm not afraid to die because Voldemort has threatened it often enough. One day he may have the gall to face me personally rather than blowing hot air from behind your skirts."

Malfoy paled in rage, "how dare you call him a coward!" he cried in anguish, "you'd show more respect if you only knew!"

"Knew what?"

Draco visibly battled and groped for words but didn't dare for fear of revealing too much. Instead he just spluttered a half-hearted threat, "you'll get yours, Potter, just you wait! You'll regret this!" before retrieving his wand and retreating down to the Slytherin dungeons with Crabbe and Goyle bringing up the rear.

The confrontation went a little way towards lifting Harry's spirits, but Malfoy's revelation had created a very different problem for the Order.

It was just like Lucius to resort to underhanded ways to remove competition or enemies from a given picture, but revealing Alexa as a Vampire was a cheap trick. Now it was up to the Order to find her before Fudge's forces did, and that would be no easy feat. It made Harry worry all the more about her.

"Hold on, Alexa," Harry muttered to himself, "just hold on a little bit longer."

Now any information held in the book in his bag was more important than ever.

Eager to avoid any further delays, he hurried up to the common room. Ron and Hermione were absent, clearly noticeable when he climbed through the portrait hole at about seven o' clock, but he wasn't concerned. It meant that he was free to peruse the book free from interruptions and distractions while they no doubt had a secret rendezvous to discuss what was wrong with him.

Even if they asked him what was wrong, he wouldn't be able to explain because he wanted to believe whole-heartedly that Alexa was alive, but doubtful voices kept whispering otherwise, tearing him in two.

Now Malfoy's father had made her death all the more likely and Harry was powerless to do anything.

Rather than seating himself comfortably by the fire to read, he stole upstairs to the dormitory where he pulled the curtains closed around him and settled back against the pillows, his knees drawn up to his chest which served as a balance for the book.

With a deep breath to settle the nerves that had sprung up in his stomach, he opened the dusty volume. Almost instantly, information presented itself and he thumbed through the pages with impressive speed, hungry for more.

So far, there was no reference to the Chimeras, merely a bitter diatribe about how evil the Vampires were who hunted the Ministry officials' family.

It also attempted to catalogue the lifestyle and beliefs of the Vampires in painstaking detail, including ritualistic Satanism, sacrifice of virgins and communal torturing of their victims for extended periods. It all made Harry roll his eyes in disgust.

The sheer guesswork and prejudice that made up the majority of the text was ridiculous, given his personal affiliation with the Vampire Elders and their High Priestess, even though it was obvious that people didn't want to hear about Vampires being particularly good or having families of their own.

"Harry? Are you in there?" Ron's voice appeared from the direction of the door, making Harry jump in surprise.

"Yeah, I'm here!" he called, burying the book under his pillow for reasons best known to itself.

"Where have you been?" the red-haired Weasley asked in a worried tone, drawing back the curtains with a clatter of metal rings, "me and Hermione were looking for you at dinner!"

"Sorry, I had something to do," he replied ambiguously.

In truth, he really wasn't in the mood for a lengthy discussion.

"So what's going on? You haven't spoken two sentences to me or Hermione since this morning."

"Why does something have to be going on?" Harry barked, angry that his best friend was trying to pry, "why can't you just accept that I'm not feeling myself?"

Ron fixed him with a knowing look, "because you stopped feeling yourself when you saw the Prophet this morning," he replied in a calm, understanding tone and then let silence descend on them.

Looking into the face of Ron's sympathy made him realise that he shouldn't alienate his friends, but how could he do anything else? If he tried to protest that Alexa was alive and had contacted him in a hurt and tortured state, they would think him mad and with good reason. Like with hearing voices, having visions was never a good sign, even in the wizarding world.

"How would you feel in my position?" he asked, tears finally springing to his eyes as the situation's enormity settled on his emotions at last, "you didn't get to know her like I did. I actually spent time with her and I've never known anyone so brave and selfless. Now not only is she presumed dead, but Fudge knows that she's a Vampire!"

Ron almost fell off the edge of the bed in shock, "how did he find out?" he gasped in horror.

"Our favourite Deatheater, Malfoy senior," Harry replied, emotionless in expression despite his churning insides.

Ron paled so much that he looked grey, "you're kidding?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock.

Harry shook his head, "it gets worse. Fudge has dissolved the Auror League and has issued a stake-on-sight policy. If she thought to go back to the Ministry, she'd be killed."

"No one will think good of her now," Ron muttered tearfully, "how could they do that? Why couldn't they let people remember her well?"

Ron's devastation reminded him of his own, except now Harry had found some peace through his certainty that Alexa Flock was coming home, and his best friend's pain made him want to share his knowledge, "Ron, Alexa will always be remembered well by those who know her. Fudge is just prejudiced because of the Bloodbath tales and that shows that he is weak. She'll come home and teach him how wrong he is."

"She's dead, Harry, you said it yourself. She's never coming back."

"That's because I was confused and lost faith," he replied, "do you honestly think that the Alexa Flock that we know would let herself be taken by an ambush?"

Ron let out a great sniff, "it killed the other Aurors, Harry," he replied, as if that alone was evidence for her demise.

"But not her," Harry interjected, his eyes like great orbs in his face as the hope shone through, "she survived. She's trying to get home as we speak."

"But you said..." he stammered, not understanding.

"I know what I said, but ignore it," Harry replied, "I was really confused, but now I know that Dumbledore's right. She's alive."

Ron frowned deeply, "but how do you know?"

Harry knew that without some form of proof, Ron Weasley would never believe him, so he took a deep breath and tried not to think about how completely insane he was about to sound, "Ron, she sent me visions of her in the forest near where it all happened."

"Visions?"

"Yes, visions," Harry replied, gaining momentum, "I know how crazy that sounds, but we all know how much power she has - it's unlimited, so how can it be questioned? She can do anything and has done everything imaginable with magic, and she's communicated that she's alive. That is the most important thing that she could have done for the Order. You'll see, she'll be back soon stronger than ever."

Harry paused and waited, unable to read Ron's expression. Instead of gaining a little colour, he had paled even more. His eyes were welled up with unshed tears, the lids swollen and red. Harry had expected an explosion of joy, but instead Ron donned an even more ghostly pallor and visibly shrank away.

Ron finally turned his eyes away from his friend and fixed them on the floor, "stop it," he muttered, his ears reddening as they always did when he was under some form of pressure, "just stop it, Harry."

It was Harry's turn to frown, "what do you mean?" he asked, confused that his best friend was reacting so bad when he should be happy.

When Ron eventually looked at him, there was an unfathomable level of hurt in his eyes and the distance between them was not just geographical, "I mean that you are fighting to believe in what isn't there! Harry, do you have any idea how mad this is? Alexa is _dead_! She's _gone_! You said so yourself, and yet here you are talking about visions? What is going on with you?"

"Ron, she _is_ alive, I saw it!" Harry tried to protest, but Ron shook his head vigorously, forming an impregnable barrier around his feelings.

"No you didn't! You saw what you wanted to see! You've let your feelings for her go too far!" Ron shouted in desperation, trying to drill these unhealthy, maddening fancies out of their friendship, "Alexa is dead and is never coming back. Accept it, because you're going to lose everyone, Harry."

"Is that a threat?" Harry asked, adopting a chilly demeanour when faced with such disbelief.

"A fact," Ron replied, completely expressionless. He had completely shut himself off from Harry to protect himself.

"Ron, listen. You don't understand..."

"No, you're right. I _don't _understand. I don't understand why you are doing this to yourself. You need to stop this madness now. Alexa died and now it is up to the Order to finish what she started."

"But Ron, I can't just let go - she's alive!"

"_No_!" Ron barked, his eyes blazing with frustration and anger, "you're not the only one who had feelings for her. I loved her too but now she's gone, and we can't keep going on like this."

With that, Ron leapt up and left Harry alone in the dormitory, slamming the door behind him.

"Everything alright?" Hermione enquired when she exited the girls' dormitory to find Ron leaning over the stone landing with a livid expression. She cautiously walked over and stood next to him as he rubbed his face violently and heaved an exasperated sigh, "is it Harry?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do," he said without looking at her, "what he's coming out with at the moment is just crazy. Now, I could deal with him hearing voices in the second year, but that's because he was a Parselmouth, but now he's seeing some kind of visions!"

Hermione frowned, "what kind of visions?" she asked, "because it doesn't necessarily mean that he's crazy."

"Well, this time he is!" Ron exploded, "he says that Alexa is alive and has contacted him."

"Oh," she said quietly, almost inaudible, "well, Parvarti's just said that she saw Harry going through a book on visions in the library, so maybe what he's telling you is true."

"So now you believe him?" Ron barked, his red-headed temper flaring.

"No, I'm just telling you what she told me," she replied in as calm a tone as she could manage, "maybe we should just give him the benefit of the doubt on this one? I mean, Harry does seem prone to invasions of the mind and we never questioned him before."

"But you didn't hear him, Hermione. We all saw the Prophet headline but he's labouring under the illusion that she's alive. He's adamant and now this vision thing is some kind of life-line to her. Why can't he just accept it?"

Hermione shrugged, "maybe because he really loves her," she said with a small smile, "can we blame him for that?"

"He's not the only one," Ron mumbled, almost incoherently as he sniffed and scrubbed at his nose.

"I know, but we can't condemn him for hoping," she replied, "even if it does make him sound insane. Besides, the Prophet said that she was only _presumed _dead and we all know how powerful she is. For all we know, she could still be alive and maybe the visions are a way of confirming that. It isn't exactly a science, but visions do exist despite their rarity and are usually transmitted after a stressful event - like, say, an ambush for example? Alexa and Harry bonded quickly because of her connection to his parents and Sirius, so perhaps that created a psychic bond. We just need to try and be a little more supportive. After all, any death or news of a death affects Harry more than us because of his background."

Ron always hated admitting that Hermione was right, and now she was more right than ever. But he was getting sick of Harry attracting everyone's attention for being different. He wasn't just the Boy Who Lived anymore. He had personally fought Voldemort a number of times and survived and had gained a certain fame within the Hogwarts walls for his exploits.

Ron had also noticed the special treatment his friend received and was getting tired of being the sidekick to the super hero. Just once, Ronald Weasley wanted to show that he wasn't just Harry Potter's stupid friend.

Besides, Harry was going crazy, so maybe now was the time to try and strike out alone? He couldn't live in his shadow forever so a change might be due.

"Hermione, we can't keep making excuses for him," Ron said with a strange defiance in his countenance, "we need to face up to the fact that Harry isn't well. He's clinging on to ghosts, and that isn't healthy. I'm sorry that everyone he's cared about has died, but we can't change that. I've been as supportive as I can be, but it's reached its limit. I'm done."

"What do you mean?" Hermione barked as he pushed past her and descended the stairs.

"I mean he's on his own," he said simply and disappeared into the lounging Gryffindors, while Hermione huffed and puffed and grunted over his selfishness.


	3. Chapter 3

So the main contributing factor of the next seemingly endless weeks was awkwardness which vibrated through the air and infected the majority of the brave lions, so the common room was the last place everyone wanted to be.

After going on the offensive with Harry and Hermione, Ron behaved in his customarily pig-headed way and had turned to any who would listen, boasting that his former best friend had lost his marbles once and for all. Hermione had grown so used to her patronising roll of the eyes that it was almost second nature whenever Ron opened his mouth.

But his hurtful jibes and jests eventually took their toll and Harry found himself more alone than ever. Hermione tried to fill the void, but no matter how many times she told him to laugh off Ron's pettiness, he simply couldn't muster the energy to even smile.

Instead, he threw himself into his work and became more studious and attentive than ever, even in the most boring of lessons, when even Hermione had to fight the urge to fall asleep.

His grades improved rapidly, but his outlook and self esteem failed to follow. He continued to seek his own company and even Hermione began to feel pushed away. She often found him skipping meals and hiding in the library, surrounded by thick books documenting and recording an all manner of ancient disciplines.

Many times she offered to help him, knowing full well what he was looking for, but he always answered with a vigorous shake of the head and not a single word. Sometimes he didn't even acknowledge her.

"Ron, you have to make it up with him," she begged the heartless teenager for probably the twelfth time as they trudged down the corridor between lessons, "he doesn't look well."

"And that's my problem how?" Ron barked irritably in response, trying to go off with Seamus and Lee.

"Because you've caused it!" Hermione shrieked in anguish, "falling out with him was bad enough but how could you ridicule him in front of everyone?"

Ron shrugged, "so sue me for telling them what an attention-seeking, lying git he is," he said in such an unforgiving tone that Hermione couldn't help but gape in total horror.

"How could you be so heartless?" she snapped, her eyes narrowing menacingly, "for all you know, he could be right!"

He issued another infuriatingly dismissive shrug, "don't care," he muttered and detoured down an adjacent corridor to get away from her uncomfortable accusations.

Ron's attitude even continued during Quidditch practise. He carried his sour head onto the pitch and openly undermined Harry's authority as Captain in front of everyone.

He even went as far as hindering the flow of the session, fooling around and affecting Neville's preliminary training.

Harry did his best to remain upbeat but inside his guts were churning. He knew that Ron was punishing him but he couldn't understand why.

Neville and the girls tried to stay supportive of him but the antics of their inept Keeper was starting to rile their tempers. It wasn't just a one-off incidence either, it was happening every practise.

"Grow up," Angelina snarled at him as she walked passed with Harry at her side, Ron gaping stupidly.

Christmas was rapidly approaching and all the normal preparations were being made. The teachers were nice and cheery, spreading the good tidings to their students in spite of all the negative feelings amongst their classes.

McGonagall, in particular, was glad to note that the notable animosity in her House did not hinder the Quidditch team's performance.

Harry led his well-prepared team, complete with his two new Beaters, to three wins before the holidays.

He and Ron always managed to put things behind them in the heat of competition but as soon as Madame Hooch blew the final whistle, their sour feelings returned with a vengeance.

The girls on the team often quizzed Hermione about the boys' fall-out but she could never give them the full picture, scared of turning even more people against Harry.

Harry never dared speak to anyone about his visions again, even Hermione, who seemed to be the only person not taken in by Ron's cruelty, but the memory of them never left him. The images often woke him in the middle of the night, sweating and panting for breath.

He was now in a permanent state of anxiety, his heart racing in his ears even when he was only carrying out a menial task. It was akin to the feeling one gets when time is quickly running out.

It made him think the worst about everything, but at the same time he knew deep in his being that he could do nothing to stop whatever it was. He had convinced himself that it was connected to Voldemort, especially given that his research into the Chimeras had yielded absolutely nothing.

In despair, he had hidden himself at the back of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, trying to block out the evil glares from Malfoy and the disgusted over-the-shoulder glances from Seamus in front of him. What he was about to do terrified him, but he knew that it was his only option.

With another lesson in silence almost over, Harry raised his trembling hand.

Professor Vas jabbed a long, gnarled finger at him in indication to speak and the crucial moment was upon him. He took a deep breath and attempted to swallow his fear, "Professor, seeing as though we're concentrating on evil beasts, could you tell me something about the Chimeras?"

A female gasp split the dense air, that he knew belonged to Hermione, but besides that, no one spoke. The room seemed to stand still.

Harry scrutinised Rader's expression, momentarily disappointed when he remained indifferent, but then his face paled to a grey, death-like colour and his eyes widened ever so slightly.

Harry Potter maintained an expression of innocent curiosity, but his teacher quickly grew livid. With heavy footsteps, Rader Vas stomped towards his student, who had dared speak out of turn. It was like an icy north wind was blowing through the classroom, the air in the Professor's wake chilled almost to solid ice.

Very slowly, he stooped over Harry's desk, casting a shadow over him and his punishable curiosity like he was about to do the Grim Reaper's duty, "Chimeras, did you say?" he growled, lurid breath gushing from his sour mouth.

Harry nodded, now having to fight to maintain the innocence of his question, "I came across the name in a book in the library."

"Urban legend and myth, formed by bored, petulant storytellers to frighten the idiotic," Professor Vas snarled, his eyes blazing with contempt. With that, he turned and walked back to the front of the class with a flick of his long coat.

"But sir, why would Calista Brocklehart - a world renowned Auror, who has seen every evil imaginable - mention their name if they are just an urban legend?" he dared to continue, wondering where his courage - or foolishness - came from in the face of such a demon.

Vas whirled round and barked in a menacing, commanding tone, "dismissed! Get out!"

The rest of the class was only too happy to execute this final request and scurried from the room like rats abandoning their nest, but Harry took his time, scrutinising the Professor's fury from a distance.

The daggers that Vas was staring at him followed him even as he exited the classroom, but had been sufficient enough to confirm his theories; the Chimeras were very real and a very poor omen given even the most staunch person's unwillingness to talk about them.

But something deep within Vas' expression was something that Harry trusted even less, and this made him pause as he left the classroom.

With his classmates gone off to the Great Hall for dinner, the corridor was silent and no sound could be heard from the sinister Professor's room or office.

Digging into his bag, Harry removed the faithful and trustworthy Marauder's Map, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he recited and tapped the blank parchment sharply with the tip of his wand.

Instantly, the paper bled its ink across its surface, forming intricate patterns that made up the detailed map of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He opened up the folds and revealed the corridor he was stood on and the external walls of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.

Strangely, there was no flag within the lines marking the room and alerting him to Rader Vas' presence. The room and office were deserted.

Desperately, he searched for the absent teacher in regions beyond his current presence. Harry had only left him a matter of minutes before and yet he had disappeared, without using the only door.

He wondered if Vas had resorted to his scampering down walls and unfurled even more of the map to reveal the massive grounds.

In surprise, Harry's tracing finger stopped as a flag appeared within the Forbidden Forest at a clearing of trees. Rader Vas. It was strange how fast he had reached the solitude of the trees, but stranger still was the fact that he'd stopped.

Harry watched carefully in anticipation of movement but the flag and spot remained stationary.

Another spot skimmed towards Vas from the deepest thickets of the forest, but it wasn't marked. Harry frowned at the lack of identification and pondered over who the mysterious Professor was meeting.

The Marauder's Map was supposed to identify everyone and their location without discrimination, so why was this individual different, and what power did they have over such an insignificant object as the Map?

The mystery enthralled Harry and filled him with more vitality, as if his heart had finally begun to beat again after the humiliation of recent weeks.

Clear that Vas was not going to be back for a time, Harry was touched by the gnawing impulse to embark on adventure that sent his muscles almost into spasm as they wanted to move but his being unsure kept them rooted to the spot.

He was testing his nerve, but his confidence had taken a dramatic turn for the worst so it took a lot of courage to shrug off his fear and venture through the deserted classroom and up the stone staircase into the lair of the enemy.

The air inside was dank, as if the spirits of death were lurking in every corner.

Panic gripped Harry's heart as pitch blackness engulfed him, "_Lumos_," he whispered and a beam of white light surged from his wand, illuminating all the crags and crevices of the small office.

It still bared some resemblance to the dark, barren lair that Alexa had made of it last year, but what it was now was anything but comfortable.

The desk was heavily chipped and splintered, the leather chair ripped and spewing stuffing like blood across the floor. Shelves had collapsed under their own weight and lay broken and forgotten, the bookshelf in the corner devoid except for one single book - their course book.

It was clear that whoever Rader Vas was, he wasn't conscientious about his work.

A heavy black drape caught his attention and he drew it back with a sharp jerk, the flickering wand light casting a white-blue glow into the hidden space.

An intact shelving stack lay inside the recess in the wall, each one filled with an all manner of bottles and jars. If only Vas was as thorough with his lessons as he was with his alphabetising.

Iksodd liver - Dragsun eyeballs - Lillipeth skin - poison spores - Zollara hair.

Disgusted, Harry quickly passed the other jars with barely a glance. The bottles were filled with flourescent potions, the names of which he couldn't pronounce, but it was not these that captured his attention.

A glimmer of silver caught his eye and his gaze fell upon the instruments of someone more than what he seemed. They were arranged like soldiers in uniformed lines, resting on a violet velvet sheet, their viciously serrated edges gleaming proudly in the wand light.

Harry stared at them in shock as purposes for their use flashed through his mind in gruesome detail. The collection was comprised of serrated edges; smooth curves coming to a skin-ripping point; barbaric hooks that twisted and turned; straight blades with horrific spines; and pokers with blackened tips. Each evil toy was designed to inflict a maximum amount of pain with precious little effort.

"Who is he?" Harry muttered in horror as he traced a finger across a ring of heavy chains that was suspended from the wall by a display hook.

It took him all his effort to drag his eyes away from the implements, but when he did he hurtled from the room and didn't stop until he was safely seated in the raucous Great Hall, sick from hunger but too disturbed to eat.

"Everything alright, Harry?" Hermione enquired across the three seat gap between them.

He nodded and shuffled towards her, ignorant to Ron's dismay, "I think Vas is evil," he whispered.

"What makes you say that, besides the obvious?" she asked, almost disinterested.

"He's got torture weapons in his office," he replied and recited the events of the last half-hour, Hermione's eyes widening to an almost insane degree.

"Are you sure?" she asked, somewhat panicky when Harry nodded decisively, "what kind of torture weapons?"

"How many kinds are there?" he barked with an exasperated roll of his eyes, "when you see weapons that look as painful as these, it generally means they're for torture!"

"But why would a Hogwarts Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher possess torture equipment?" Hermione asked.

Harry heaved an exasperated sigh, "isn't it obvious?" he replied, "he isn't just a Defence teacher, and I think we all know it deep inside. Rader Vas has a dark secret and I want to know everything about him that Alexa didn't find. There's a big piece of this puzzle we're missing, and it makes him more dangerous."

"Then why provoke him by asking about the Chimeras?" she asked, "Alexa wanted to keep their threat a secret for this reason. If Vas is as evil as a penchant for torture implies, telling him or questioning him was a mistake."

"I needed to get a rise out of him - make him come out of the shadows and make mistakes."

Hermione snorted, "well, you certainly managed that!" she exclaimed, "now he knows that you're in contact with certain people and has probably classified you as a threat. I could think of better ways of finding out about the Chimeras!"

"You mean a way that would have kept him locked in his office and kept us in the illusion that he's a friend of sorts?" Harry demanded aggressively, "the Chimeras aren't mentioned anywhere in the library and that implies that people are blind to their power or too afraid to ask. I had to figure out why and how widespread it was. Vas was supposedly an isolated person who had revolutionised his form of Defence, so either he believes that the Chimeras don't exist, or he's in league with people wanting to summon them again. I'm inclined to believe the latter."

"So, you believe he's in league with You-Know-Who because he's a torturer who thinks the Chimeras are a myth?" Hermione enquired, as if summarising his argument for her own benefit.

Harry nodded, "asking him about the Chimeras made him act. When we left, he scampered into the Forest and met with someone or something that the Marauder's Map couldn't identify - Voldemort, I'm sure of it. That was when I found the weapons in his office."

"So now the enemy knows that we know his plans," Hermione said downheartedly.

"Alexa's presumed-death already shows that he knows. Voldemort isn't the kind to let us have the upper hand, even for a moment."

Hermione had to admit that her friend was right. When in the presence of their crooked teacher, she had thought that Harry had caved under the pressure that Ron had created, but now she could see that he had somehow planned everything out, even if his outcome and discoveries were based on sheer luck.

But she knew that he had created an even bigger problem - Vas now knew that Harry or the Order were on to him, and the next few days would be their most dangerous. For all Hermione and Harry knew, a plot could be formulated to obliterate their 'poisonous' beliefs, so they had to be on their guard for unusual occurrences.

"So what now?" she dared ask.

Harry shrugged, "we wait and see what Vas' next move will be. He won't act immediately, but we can be sure that he will. We just need to be ready when he does."

But there was very little time for them to devote to their concerns about Professor Vas, because Harry's responsibilities as Quidditch Captain kept him completely swamped.

He devoted his every waken moment to creating tactics and training his team so that when the first match of the season was upon them, the Gryffindor team was fighting fit and eager to prove that they were still a force to be reckoned with.

"Is everyone clear on our strategy?" Harry asked as he and his team waited to be announced.

Everyone sounded off with an affirmative, the newer additions albeit with a little fear adding a quiver to their voices, "it'll be fine," he added in what he hoped was a reassuring tone as Madame Hooch began the introductions outside, "if we all just relax and stick to the plan, we'll be in with a fighting chance, especially given Hufflepuff's injury problem."

That seemed to lift even Neville's spirits and they mounted their faithful broomsticks before kicking off sharply, Harry leading the charge.

Raucous cheers and deafening screams from the Gryffindor enclosures carried their players to new heights as each of the team members settled in their formation - Ron hovered nervously before the scoring zone; Neville and Milly waited above the Chasers with their bats raised; and Harry above them all like an ominous overseer, his sharp eyes darting every which way in search of the freshly released Golden Snitch.

"Now, here's to a nice, clean game!" Madame Hooch shouted when the Hufflepuffs had settled into their positions, and with a sharp kick, the Snitch and Bludgers were released. As they disappeared from sigh, up went the lifeless Quaffle into the waiting grasp of Alicia of Gryffindor, and the game began.

The Chasers embarked on a furious battle as Harry and his opposing Seeker dutifully watched from above, but the Hufflepuffs were generally quite a docile, non-violent group so there was likely to be no injuries inflicted whatsoever.

But they certainly weren't pushovers, and gave the formidable Gryffindors a run for their money.

Time and again the bell sounded, signalling point after point scored by Helga's badgers, but Godric's lions always retaliated. They had studied every weakness in the opposing team's strategies and exploited them cleanly, making the points difficult to separate.

First the Hufflepuffs would take the lead, then the Gryffindors would equalise, then the other would dominate a while longer. It was safe to say that they were all evenly matched.

The only thing that sometimes let Harry's team down was their greener players. Ron, infamous for buckling under pressure, managed to allow numerous scoring Quaffles through, and Neville's weaker broomstick control almost took out Angelina Johnson on a number of occasions, but the team was generally performing well. All Harry had to do was catch the Snitch before anything could go wrong.

A sudden flash of gold way out over the stands caught his attention, but not his opponent's, so he cautiously drifted in for a closer look. But by the time he'd crossed the pitch, whatever it was had passed on and he was left hovering above the midline with nothing to hunt. The one advantage was that it gave him a clearer view of the game play below.

"Concentrate, Ron!" he shouted angrily when the Keeper allowed yet another Quaffle through the precious hoops. That costly mistake had pushed Hufflepuff's lead to 80-50, "keep it together everyone!"

In a last ditch attempt to retrieve some lost opportunities, Alicia, Angelina and Katie pulled out a formation move that had served them well in the Oliver Wood days, and it successfully clawed back some precious points.

Now the badgers were only leading by ten points, but all would be at an end if Harry could just find the Snitch.

The spirited ball managed to evade detection for almost an hour, and with his team failing fast, Harry knew that it was now or never. The Hufflepuff Seeker was making his move - slowly but decisively - so the Snitch was close.

A silver flash from one of its enchanted wings pierced the colourful stadium and Harry set off. It was moving down to the ground and he anxiously followed in a bone-crushing dive that would require expert precision to pull out of in time.

The turbulence catching his cheeks, he forced his faithful Firebolt on. He could make out the golden ball now, sitting quite steady between the blurred wings.

It could sense that it was being hunted though, because it began a series of erratic movements to try and throw its pursuer off, but Harry's broom was agile and responsive, the slightest flick of movement changing its flight path.

But his opponent was gaining fast, Harry could feel him bearing down on him, just out of sight.

He reached out a hand to try and end the game with a simple catch, but he was now in a dangerous zone. Chasers from both teams were zipping past, sometimes close enough to hear their breaths, and any one of them could hit the Seekers if they lost concentration for even a moment. But there was no turning back for Harry. Just a little bit closer.

"Watch out!" Alicia Spinnet shrieked as the Hufflepuff Chaser, Primrose Strick, tried to dodge her teammate and failed, clipping the back of the Seeker's broom just enough to alter his balance. Over-compensating, he ploughed into Harry's side with a splitting crunch of bone and wood.

In those few seconds before losing control of the Firebolt, Harry Potter lunged forwards, those extra few inches just enough, and grabbed the Snitch before falling the rest of the way to the hard sand pit below. The game was over.

As stunned whispers rustled through the crowd, Harry lay motionless in the deep sand. His eyes were stinging from the grains but he didn't dare move. His left arm was twisted beneath him, the shoulder ball protruding and the arm useless and tingling. Harry's ribs were throbbing molten fire into his chest with every breath and he could feel a bruise coming from where his torso had slapped the ground.

Apart from those and a few grazes to his knees and face, he was in pretty sound shape.

"Harry!" the girls shrieked and rushed over, with Madame Hooch following close behind, "are you OK?"

"I got it," he grunted and managed to open his left fist.

Madame Hooch took the ball from his hand and blew the whistle, "game to Gryffindor!" she cried, the crowd cheering in a rather subdued manner, "we'd better get you to the hospital wing and get that shoulder relocated, Potter."

Hands descended on him like a sea of fleshy rain and helped him to his feet before leading him to the hospital wing.

But Ron wasn't among his protectors, the flame-haired Weasley clearly visible trudging into the changing rooms with bowed shoulders.

Harry tried not to let his friend's abandonment settle on his bruised soul, but it bothered him. Ron's lack of concern was heartless given their previous connection, and it was getting worse as opposed to better. He didn't acknowledge Harry's presence at all now, and it was really beginning to hurt. He'd loved and lost people before, but he'd never known them. But he'd known Ron.

"Don't worry Harry," Katie muttered as they neared the hospital wing, "Ron can't stay in this crappy mood forever."

Harry, however, wasn't convinced.

As they approached, the door to the hospital wing swung open and Dumbledore hurried out with an elegant being following, flanked by worshippers clothed in monk robes with hoods over their faces, shielding them from the sunlight flooding in through the high windows.

"Who are they?" Alicia asked as they slowed to a stop.

Harry recognised the flowing robe, decorated in reds and yellows, "Elders," he muttered, casually omitting that they were Vampires.

"This problem must be resolved, Old One," Vladmiran hissed vehemently, his greying features turning even more sickly, "Voldemort committed a vicious crime, deliberately striking out at me and my kind. Vengeance!"

"Chieftan, I understand but, with respect, we can't risk provoking him into hasty actions. We are at a crucial time where the slightest mistake could spoil our chances forever. Patience is imperative."

Vladmiran stepped towards Dumbledore and pushed his gaunt features into the Professor's aggressively, "get your house in order," he snarled through bared teeth and curled lip, "you have fourteen days to bring a convoy in or we will act. And you will not find our actions pleasant."

With a venomous hiss, Vladmiran gave a flick of his robe and disappeared, his Vampire monks close at his belligerent heels.

"Professor!" Harry exclaimed just as the Headmaster was about to rush back into the hospital, "wait!"

Dumbledore turned, almost afraid, but his expression softened when he saw the team, still in their scarlet and gold Quidditch robes, "Harry, ladies. An excellent match, truly excellent, but I'm afraid that I didn't see the Snitch get caught. Who was victorious?"

"We were, Professor," Angelina replied with a proud smile, "but Harry got hurt."

"Quite nasty," Dumbledore replied on surveying Harry's dislocated shoulder, "we'd better get Madame Pomfrey to take a look at that."

The Headmaster shuffled into the hospital wing ahead of them and began conversing with a gathering that was surrounding one of the beds. Snape and McGonagall were two of the many familiar faces.

Madame Pomfrey relieved the girls of Harry and promptly shooed them away as she led him to a bed near the door.

"Curtains!" Dumbledore barked at her, but she was too slow.

A break appeared in the furiously chatting crowd and through it, Harry glimpsed a pale, drawn face covered in cuts and bruises, the eyes sunk in their sockets.

The hair was red from blood and knotted into a tangled clump, resembling no natural colour. Even the skin was a chestnut brown, the hands black from scrabbling about in the dirt.

But Harry felt everyone's familiarity and when one eye opened a crack, his mind was flooded with pain, emotion and relief - also gratitude, as if he had somehow facilitated this event.

"Alexa!" he shrieked, tears of relief streaming down his face, "I knew you were alive!"

He tried to get up and rush to her side, but Remus Lupin and Tonks held him down, "how is this possible?"

Tonks drew the curtains around his bed, much to his dismay, "it's a miracle, Harry," she said, "but she isn't safe yet. Her convoy was attacked by Deatheaters. They used poison spores to kill the humans and stun the Vampires. The Transylvanians were easy to kill that way. Alexa managed to escape, but has been lost in the woods for so long that the poison is working its way through her system. She could still die."

"It was you that saved her, Harry," Lupin said with a smile.

"But I never did anything."

"You did. You did the most you could - hoped," the werewolf said, "it was your belief in her that made her connect to your mind, and any feat such as that can be felt by those who know how. Alastor Moody is one such person. He was with the Ministry so long that he picked up some tricks and pinpointed the source of the energy. Dumbledore knew you'd been contacted and helped us search."

"But how could he know when I never told him?"

"Because he knew your attachment to Alexa and knew her abilities," Tonks replied with a shake of her lilac hair, "there's also not much that goes on around here that he doesn't know about."

"So I've been spied on during the worst weeks of my life?" he barked, "and no one thought to help?"

"Dumbledore, or any of us, would never interfere, Harry," Lupin said, "unless asked."

Harry felt more alienated than ever. He was tired of always being observed from afar when things were going wrong, with no one offering assistance. Even Alexa had been guilty of it and now Dumbledore had admitted it. It took control of his own life away from him and made him worse than a spectator in the world.

"The Order of the Phoenix is going to try again, with the Elders' permission, to bring a convoy through, but this time we will need more hands on deck," Lupin explained, "Alexa will be out of commission for a long time while she recovers, so the more Aurors we have the better. We also need to heavily enchant a location so that the same thing can't happen again. We haven't been able to interview Alexa yet to see what happened exactly, but we will soon."

"When will she be fit enough to speak to?" Harry enquired. There was so much that he wanted to tell her.

Tonks smiled, "Madame Pomfrey's tonics may have treated her enough by tomorrow."

Suddenly the curtain was pulled back by the tall and imposing Kingsley Shacklebolt, "Remus, the Vampires are here. They're waiting in the forest."

Lupin nodded, "yes, right. I'd better see to them and give them their instructions."

He gave Harry a pat on the good shoulder and left, Kingsley sharp on his heels.

"Vampires?"

Tonks nodded as she prepared to follow, "Vladmiran isn't impressed with what's happened and has demanded that their High Priestess' safety be entrusted to their kind. He's holding us to blame for what's happened to her and so Aurors will leave Hogwarts at dusk and the Vampires will protect her through the night."

"Will everyone else be safe?"

"Of course! Vladmiran has made them promise not to harm anyone in the school, or its neighbours. We certainly don't want our Vampire relations to get any worse than they already are." That said, Tonks hurried away to her friend's side.

Madame Pomfrey examined Harry's shoulder shortly after and cracked it back into place. She brewed up a potion to repair his damaged ligaments and tendons, and gave him a sleeping draught to help him sleep through all the disturbance and distraction.

Upon waking from a heavy sleep, Harry spotted a familiar face peering over from the chair next to his bed.

"Alright?" Ron asked with a regretful expression, unable to meet Harry's confused frown.

"Nothing Madame Pomfrey can't fix," he muttered, "wasn't expecting to see you."

"Yeah, well. We were worried when you didn't come back down. You missed a great party. And...well...rumours were about that Alexa's back and..." he trailed off, hoping that Harry would know what he was getting at.

"So much for the Vampires keeping it quiet," Harry grumbled with a roll of his eyes.

"Is she OK?"

Harry shrugged, "just dying."

Ron look surprised, "Oh...sorry. I thought she was alright now."

"She's been infected with poison spores, Ron. She won't be alright for a long time, so if that's all..."

"No," Ron interjected as Harry turned his face away, "no, I really came...to...to say that I...I'm...sorry...you know? For doubting you."

"It's fine," Harry mumbled, picking at a snag in the sheet, "forget it."

"No, it's not fine. I shouldn't have humiliated you in front of everyone and behaved like a total git."

"Well, that wasn't your most becoming moment," Harry replied, "it was fine you not believing me, but why did you tell everyone I was crazy?"

Ron shrugged, "I was just hurt. Everyone always pays you the attention and I guess I was getting jealous, so I made a mistake. I'm, you know, sorry."

Ron looked so sheepish that Harry couldn't help laughing, "it's alright," he said, "don't worry about it. Just don't do it again."

Ron smiled but still maintained an ashamed expression, "you've got to admit that you sounded crazy!"

Harry nodded, "I know I did, but I had hoped that my best friend would stick by me."

"Don't worry, I won't be such a selfish git next time!" he exclaimed, and just like that, their friendship was back on the right track, "so, what happened to her?"

Harry cast his eyes across the room to where Alexa was unconscious.

During the night, he'd been awoken by the sound of her cries of pain and he'd risen from his bed to try and calm her, but she was too deep in her restorative sleep to hear him or respond to his touch.

But that hadn't mattered, for he still stayed by her side until the fingers of dawn crept through the leaded windows. Since then, Madame Pomfrey had stilled her cries with one of her many draughts, but every so often Alexa would jerk to the side, as if jabbed by a knife.

Now she was sweating profusely and drawing plenty of concerned attention.

Harry explained everything to Ron, who listened carefully while Alexa thrashed in her bed. He heard his restored friend's narrative about the ambush, the visions, her rescue thanks to Alastor Moody and how the Order of the Phoenix was planning to oversee the rallying of forces until she was well again.

"But what if this is it?" Ron asked, indicating her extreme level of sickness, "Harry, poison spores may only exist in the air for a moment, but if they're inhaled, they cause all kinds of harm that can leave someone permanently disabled, that is if they survive at all! Magnolia Honeysuckle was a really influential member of the Ministry until Voldemort picked her off when he last rose to power. He used poison spores to kill her and it took her months to die. That's why he used them, because they torture you little by little, burrowing deep into your lungs and festering until they have eaten so much of your tissue that your organs are practically liquified! I don't know whether Alexa can fight this."

Harry frowned, "she's part Vampire, Ron!" he exclaimed, as if that alone was an obvious enough response to justify a recovery, "besides, she may get some strength from somewhere else."

He dug under his pillow and pulled out a sodden, tightly folded leaf of parchment, which he very carefully unfurled and handed to Ron, "this was tucked in the folds of her cloak. I didn't want Madame Pomfrey throwing it away, thinking it was just rubbish."

Ron looked over the familiar script carefully, his keen eye noticing the small spots that had blotted the quill ink before drying again to form odd constellations of blue.

The signature at the bottom of the page was lovingly scribed but concluded with a single full stop, that was enough to say that the sentiments, aswell as the life, had been regretfully finished.

"From Sirius?" he asked in surprise.

Harry nodded, "I looked it over last night when I couldn't sleep. I know I shouldn't have, but I was so curious. It was like I was drawn to it. I never realised before then..."

Choked with feelings, Harry trailed off and Ron began to read:

_My dearest Alexa,_

_I write this because, once again, your beautiful face has slipped into my mind as I sit, numb with cold while Buckbeak tries to warm me. Even though a fire is burning, it won't drive away the cold that holds me tightly. But still, I find myself reminiscing about our more happier years at Hogwarts in an attempt to drive away my misery at being shut away in this barren wasteland of Pureblood mania and screaming portraits._

_Your face is the only thing that warms this heart of mine. You were so steadfast and strong during our younger years that we thought you were immovable, driven only by fierce ambition. But you had a light about you that lessened all our burdens, even if you didn't know of it. We craved your company because you brightened a world that was so cloudy to us. James and I knew that there was darkness in you, but in spite of the Slytherin temptations and propaganda, you chartered your own course, and we were proud that we could accompany you on that turbulent journey. _

_It was your strength of will that always intoxicated me, the same as my rugged charm and mischievousness enthralled you. We were a perfect match, but a pair that always clashed heads like a pair of stubborn mules. _

_But we loved one another desperately, and I am proud to say that you were my one and only love. I have never felt as strong a connection with anyone other than you, and am not likely to for the rest of my days. I just wish that our relationship could have continued outside of Hogwarts, but our lives were not meant to be entwined. _

_You have made a great success out of your life, whereas I fell like mine is slipping away with each day that I pass as a fugitive. But I can feel your spirit with me, watching over me for eternity._

_We all loved you, James, Remus, Lilly and I. You were the sweetest, most generous girl we knew and it was a crime that you weren't placed in Gryffindor. Slytherin didn't deserve you. _

_You risked a lot by revealing your secret to us, but we couldn't ever betray you, not after everything you'd done for all of us. In fact, it made Remus more at ease with his werewolf side, knowing that someone as seemingly pure as you had a hidden evil kept in check. We all held you to a higher esteem after that, because you showed that you trusted us completely - not that we would have dared go against you! _

_That was what I loved about you. I could be myself and even at my most intolerable you never showed me anything but adoration. I just wish I could see you one last time and tell you all the things that I never did because I thought we had time on our hands. Now I know better, and feel that time is running out as I pour my heart out to you for the last time. It may even be running out for the both of us._

_I often fancy, when I sit here alone, that we are soul mates, doomed to walk the Earth apart because destiny commands it. I just wanted you to know that it was you who kept me sane in Azkaban. The happy memories of you and me together are such a part of my soul that the combined power of all the Dementors in the world cannot tear them away, and if death follows soon, those memories will make my journey to the next world easier to bear._

_I hope you realise, my darling, darling Alexa, that I always loved you and will continue to love you even when I am dead and cold. My only regret is that the dark times wrenched us apart._

_You have become an exemplary witch, a kind and generous woman, and a credit to the Vampires and to Hogwarts, and I am honoured to have been able to share a chapter of your life._

_All my love now and for all time_

_Sirius_

There was a prolonged silence following Ron's recital which was dense with the thoughts that fired through their minds.

"Woah," Ron mumbled, looking across the room to where Alexa lay still and quiet in her bed, "I never knew they were so close."

Harry shook his head, "neither did I. I'd never heard from Sirius that they were once an item."

"It must have been too traumatic for him to recount," Ron replied, "based on what's said here, he still had it really bad for her right up until he died."

Harry fixed his eyes on Alexa, momentarily peaceful in her ill slumber. It was hard for him to imagine how hard it must have been for her to lose her soul mate so abruptly. It also struck him with an element of unfairness. Alexa didn't deserve to be alone in love, and yet that was how she'd found herself and no one alive could ease that pain.

So the days ticked by, with everyone keeping a constant vigil by the Vampire's side.

Madame Pomfrey reported that she was slowly improving, but still Alexa didn't wake and everyone grew more and more concerned. The longer she remained unconscious, the less likely she was of waking up and all began preparing for the worst.

But Harry never stopped hoping and praying, and even though he'd been released from the hospital the day after he and Ron made up, he was a regular visitor, sitting by her bed for hours when lessons were over just talking to her when no one could hear him. People said it helped those in a catatonic state, and he never gave up trying.

He often held her hand, and once even swore that she'd squeezed his when he was explaining his fallout with Ron.

Then, the amazing happened. Alexa groaned and stretched and opened her eyes, "don't you ever shut up?" she mumbled groggily, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips.

Harry didn't care how cutting her comment may have been perceived, instantly hollering for Madame Pomfrey, who practically tripped over her dress in her haste.

"Well, I'll be!" she gasped in complete shock, "good morning, Sleeping Beauty! How are you feeling?"

"Like someone set a campfire in my lungs," she replied, her voice hoarse and cracked from the poison, "and like I've been trampled by a stampede of Hippogriffs."

"Well, if it's any consolation, you look a lot worse," Madame Pomfrey replied with a cheeky grin.

"Ha, the Pomfrey wit!" Alexa exclaimed as she struggled to sit up, "I haven't missed that."

The old nurse grinned a little wider and scuttled away to spread the world about Alexa's recovery.

"I've learned one thing from all this...well, two things actually," she mumbled with slurred words as her head lolled back on the thin pillow, "someone out there really doesn't like me, and poison spores are bitches!"

Harry stifled a laugh, "you had us all worried."

She shrugged, "it wasn't exactly a picnic for me either," she muttered with a heavy sigh, "I lost some terrific Aurors that day and had to run in order to stay alive - and I hate running."

"It meant that you survived to fight again," he replied, a little astounded by her tainted mood, "that has to count for something!"

"Vampires do not run," she growled viciously, her eyes blazing with what Harry mistook for fury, but what was in truth a deep, gnawing frustration. The Deatheaters had severely wounded her pride.

"But at least you didn't die. At least now you can avenge your losses and continue to help others in need."

Alexa's expression softened a little, "I'm sorry, my friend," she said and squeezed his hand, "I think I'm still feeling the more lasting effects of the poison spores."

"That's understandable," Madame Pomfrey replied, reappearing at the foot of the bed, "poison spores take months to metabolise, and I've filled you so full of antidotes I'm surprised you haven't got a hide as thick as an ogre's backside!"

"Who's to say that I haven't?" Alexa replied with a cheeky wink as the old nurse shuffled off, humming a tune under her breath now that her last remaining patient was well again.

"So what actually happened the night of the ambush?" Harry asked.

She furrowed her brow as if piecing together the fragments of what she could remember, "it came out of nowhere," she began, straining past the hazy mist in her mind, "we arrived ahead of schedule and began preparing the area for the cleansing ritual. Fudge had relaxed the migration laws but hadn't dropped the anti-Vampire barriers at the focal points, so we had to slip into the threads of his magic and break through so that the Transylvanians could land."

"Focal points?"

She nodded, "there are only seven points of entry that a Vampire can use to get into the country. There's something different about these points, although no one knows quite what. Fudge's magic is most powerful at these spots because it takes more magical energy to lock them down than it does to create the rest of the barrier, so it takes a lot of power to break his hold. So, we set up the ritual and created the passage. Tanya Vladevna was on lookout, but Deatheaters must have killed her quietly and watched from the trees. You see, the Transylvanians were protected by their Elders' magic until they landed on our soil, and from that moment on they were vulnerable. I was conducting the pleasantries when they attacked us from out of nowhere. My Aurors fell before they could launch a defence and all I could do was watch as they slaughtered the eight Vampires before my eyes. I'm almost sure that Lucius was in charge because I heard him issuing his commands, getting everyone to do his dirty work for him. The way the Deatheaters organised and how quickly they killed everyone makes me almost positive that they knew what we were doing. I know it may sound crazy."

Harry smiled, "no more crazy than how I've sounded over the past few weeks," he said, "but how could they know?"

"I don't know," she replied with a shrug, "but there are only three ways to kill a Transylvanian Vampire; sunlight, the _Plasmadestona _curse and a silver stake through the heart, not a wooden one. They were armed with the silver and a working knowledge of even the strongest of my kind. I only managed to escape because I fell down an embankment in the forest after the poison spores attack."

"But how could the Deatheaters know that the Transylvanians were coming?" he asked.

Alexa shrugged and fixed him with a green-eyed stare, "you tell me."

"Thank the blood rights!" a Russian lilted voice exclaimed in relief, "you're alive!"

Harry turned to the door and saw Vladmiran and his disciples, garbed in robes of emerald and topaz, coming towards them with Dumbledore in their wake.

Alexa beamed at them and accepted their well-wishes, winking at Dumbledore while Vladmiran gushed and frowned over her. Harry was momentarily surprised to see this caring, nurturing side to the powerful Vampire Elder.

"I'm fine now, Vladmiran," Alexa assured him, "but what of our plans? Are more Transylvanians ready for transport?"

It was Albus who answered her question, "we failed again. The same circumstances as before."

She growled under her breath, "did we lose any of our people?"

He shook his head, "we were prepared for an ambush but this time the enemy went straight for the convoy. Voldemort is getting desperate."

Vladmiran's eyes narrowed, "I think this is all just a little bit strange," he hissed, his arms clasped in front tightly, "your Order have been present on all failed occasions."

"Exactly what are you implying, Chieftan?" Dumbledore asked with as much of a respectful tone as he could manage.

"Simply that it is your presence that jeopardises our entire effort. Now that the Dark One has learned of our plans, he is turning on our people. His followers are raiding our villages and murdering our warriors. Only you know where our camps are."

"I assure you that we have not given information to anyone regarding your whereabouts," Albus insisted.

"Vladmiran, there must be some kind of mistake," Alexa interjected before things got out of hand, "I had my Aurors handle the first two convoys and we failed on both occasions also. Are you implying that my Aurors are also traitors?"

Harry had to stifle a chuckle when Vladmiran began to quake in his shoes, twisting his fingers together like basketry. He avoided her penetrating gaze before mumbling, "I would never dare presume such a thing, High Priestess."

Alexa grinned, "good, because my people are not traitors and neither are Dumbledore's. We are all united against the same enemy. There must be another explanation for our constant failure."

"Could Voldemort simply be watching the focal points?" Harry asked, "he knows from the news casts that Fudge relaxed the migration restrictions, meaning that the Vampires can conspire and everyone knows from legend that the Romanian Vampires are the strongest clans that exist."

Alexa shook her head, "the focal points require immense magic to close and this makes them unstable. They switch from place to place every full moon and it is impossible to know where without the Field Map from the Ministry of Magic."

Suddenly, realisation dawned, "Voldemort has spies in the Ministry," Harry voiced what everyone else feared.

"I will organise for these maps to be obtained," Dumbledore said and turned to leave, but Alexa called him back.

"I am the only one with access to them besides Fudge."

"But he knows you're a Vampire," Harry announced, to the surprise of everyone, "the Malfoys told him."

"Damn!" she exclaimed, "he'll have dissolved the League by now." She spent a few moments in thought, "we need the Map, at any cost. It doesn't matter if my heritage is known now, the Malfoys have already done that. I think now is the time for Fudge to learn just how cruel I can be. Vladmiran, I will need Serenna and Vokul."

Vladmiran bowed, "they will be despatched here immediately," he said and swept from the room, his humble disciples shuffling after him.

Dumbledore frowned at her, "Alexa, Serenna and Vokul are..."

"I know," she interrupted, "but I am far from my normal self and will require extra help convincing Fudge to cooperate."

"But why them?" he protested, "it would help your case with Fudge if you took Remus or Alastor."

"I'm not interested in helping anyone's case, Albus. All I want is the Map, and if he has any objections I'll have some muscle to back me up."

"But taking two of the most evil Vampire warriors into the same Ministry that has been hunting them for hundreds of years?"

Alexa glared at her mentor with bitterness in her eyes, "if you want the Map, you give me Serenna and Vokul."

Dumbledore heaved a heavy sigh and left, wishing her a cursory, 'get strong soon' as he swept down the corridor.

There was a long silence after the wise Headmaster left, during which time Harry tried not to be judgmental towards his friend, but he couldn't help wondering how Alexa could wave goodbye to her principles just because things weren't going her way, "so, who..."

"Don't," she barked and averted her eyes.

"What?"

"Don't ask questions that could prove problematic," she answered, settling back against the pillows.

"Then why put other people's lives in danger just to get what you want?"

She looked at him then with eyes full of surprise, "no one will be in danger, Harry!" she exclaimed, her voice hushed from shock at his insinuation, "how could you think I'd do that?"

"Because you want to teach Fudge a lesson and what better way to do it than give two warrior Vamps free reign?"

"If there are to be any lessons, Harry, I will be teaching them. Serenna and Vokul are merely a bit of on-hand muscle, who I will strive to keep in check. I simply don't want you crossing their path. I have authority with them, you are practically nothing."

"Then why take them if they lack respect for humans?" Harry asked.

Alexa fixed him with a look of sheer exasperation. He could feel the interrogative note of his questions, but he couldn't help being concerned. It was unlike her to pick a fight with those in power, so evidently Fudge's constant discrediting of her had taken its toll, "it's time I stopped hiding what I am, Harry. Ever since I was a student here, I have been solely responsible for keeping this secret, and now, finally, I can be all of what I am, not just the Siren. I didn't realise what I was missing, living outside of the clans as a youngster, but now I do and it is time I show the world what it means to be a Vampire."

"Does that involve hurting people?" Harry asked, quite seriously.

"It takes a lot to make me lose my temper," Alexa replied, equally as serious, "but Fudge is walking a very dangerous line."

Suddenly, the harsh voice of Severus Snape pierced the hush and made Harry whirl around in shock as the lateness of the hour struck him. He had only meant to sit by her side for a few minutes, but her waking that morning had made him miss Potions.

"I knew it!" Snape exclaimed, spitting saliva in his anger, "where else would you be? Other than sitting like a lovesick puppy by this..._creature's_ side!"

"Nice to see you again too, Snape," Alexa muttered with a sigh of exhaustion. Everyone's concern was very touching but now she just wanted to be left alone.

"Miss Flock, the next time you lapse into a coma and decide to wake up, do so at a more convenient time," he growled and grabbed Harry's arm, practically carrying him to the door, "you have missed _another_ of my classes, and now can consider yourself indisposed in detention with me for the next week!"

Harry tried to protest, but Snape silenced him with a sharp jerk that rattled his teeth together.

"I'll try and keep in mind what you said, Snape," Alexa replied, "how selfish of me to wake up today."

The infuriated Potions teacher half dragged, half frog-marched Harry Potter down to the dungeons, where he tossed him the work he'd missed and told him to report at five o' clock for detention.

Harry nodded obediently and hurried to McGonagall's Transfiguration class, where his classmates were busy turning sheets of parchment into embroidered cushions.

"How is she doing?" Hermione asked across the desk as her parchment promptly plumped out into a magenta cushion, complete with jewelled tassels and gold thread.

"She's awake," Harry replied in a downhearted tone, "and ordering people about."

"Sounds like she's back to normal," Ron replied with a grin.

Harry nodded with little conviction, but couldn't bring himself to discuss Alexa any further. He'd noticed something different about her, almost dark. Her emerald eyes used to be warm and inviting, but now they were a dark shade of olive and lacked their lively sparkle.

It was as if her slumber had brought more of the Vampire to the surface, stamping out the Sirenism that acted almost like a balance to her two very different personalities.

When left alone with her, he'd felt far from comfortable, because of the sinister undertones that had under-written her every word. He had even seen the Vampiric red in her eyes when Dumbledore disagreed with her request of Vladmiran, as if she was gearing up to attack.

Harry was fully aware that Alexa's Vampire side was stronger than her more normal self, and hoped that this new, darker Alexa would soon disappear.

"Are you going to sit with her again tonight?" Hermione asked, manipulating Ron's hand to show him how to produce the flourish required to transfigure the parchment.

Harry shook his head without hesitation. He wanted to stay as far away from her as possible given the deterioration in her mood, "Snape's put me in detention all week," he replied with a sigh, "he wasn't too happy with me losing track of time."

Ron sniggered, "you should have seen his face when you didn't turn up. We thought he was going to start spitting blood."

Hermione nodded, "since the rumours went round that she's here, he's been even more annoyed than usual. Every time someone mentions her name they get a clip round the ear. Do you think he knows about her?"

"Well, he called her a 'creature' this morning, so I think he may have an idea," Harry replied, "not that it bothered her."

Hermione frowned at her friend in concern, "what do you mean?"

He could have kicked himself for airing his unease, but now there was no going back, "nothing seems to worry her anymore. She's planning to storm the Ministry with two of the most evil Vampire warriors this country has and demand that Fudge gives her this Map that shows where all the focal points are where the Transylvanians land."

"That doesn't sound like her," Hermione thought out loud.

"Maybe she's just had it with him," Ron replied as smoke issued from the tip of his wand instead of a transfiguring spell, "I mean, after the hard work she's done for him, he turned on her and started trying to discredit her."

"But Ron, if Alexa is going on the war path, that isn't like her. Could the poison spores have affected her?"

Harry shrugged and described his fears that her Vampire side was dominating.

"If she became more Vampire, wouldn't she come round and start, you know, biting us?" Ron asked fearfully.

Hermione shook her head, "not necessarily. If Alexa could keep a grip on herself then we would be pretty safe. We just need to remember that she does have the potential for evil, especially at weaker moments like these, so we need to be extra careful. After all, she may not turn."

"I don't think she ever would," Harry protested, "but I saw that look in her eyes and the Vampire side is taking over, so we need to be on our guard for a while."

"It'll be Christmas soon," Ron said in a hopeful voice, "everything gets better at Christmas."

Harry, on the other hand, wasn't optimistic.

Professor McGonagall sent her students away with a list of things to do over the Christmas holidays, and as they were bracing themselves for another silent Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, they spotted a notice on the door to the classroom; '_lesson cancelled. Research the features of Transcending Furies and their habitat as a personal study period_'.

There were many indignant snorts and disdainful mumbles of 'stuff that' as their classmates disappeared, having thought of a hundred better ways to pass the time, none of which included the mind-numbing research of any kind of Furies, never mind the Transcending ones.

"Well, I'm off to the library," Hermione muttered without her normal conviction, "best not leave this to the last minute."

Harry smiled sympathetically as Ron rolled his eyes. The Weasley still couldn't fathom the reasons behind Hermione's studious nature, "so what are we going to do?" he asked of Harry, "research Transmuting Hormonals, or whatever they are?"

Harry laughed, "'course not!" he exclaimed, "Exploding Snap and a walk to Hagrid's, I think."

But as Harry cast his gaze back to the door momentarily, a shining pool on the floor caught his eyes. He looked down and saw it glistening around the foot of the door, "what's this?" he asked and bent down, dabbing a finger at it. The tip and nail came away crimson and sticky.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ron asked and Harry nodded.

He tried the door handle, but it was locked tight. His hand also came away bloodstained.

Harry showed it Ron, who paled rapidly, "we should go," he exclaimed, their previous conversation about Alexa replaying in his mind, "this doesn't feel right."

Harry, however, didn't listen and produced his wand, "_Alohamora_," he whispered, a distant click surrounding as the door crashed open.

Harry beckoned for Ron to follow him into the bright room, the shutters drawn back so that the room was flooded with light from the numerous windows. It illuminated the patches of red on the floor and the smeared hand prints on the desks, some of the chairs overturned.

"Harry, I really don't like this," Ron whimpered from the doorway, not daring go any further, "we really shouldn't be here!"

"Sshh!" he hissed at his friend, venturing down the classroom, following the bloody trail.

It was clear from the volume of it that someone was mortally wounded. The revolting blackboard, still marked with their previous lesson's instructions, lay collapsed on the floor with blood stains down the wooden slats.

Harry's heart was beating frantically in his chest as he walked cautiously to the foot of the stone steps leading to the office of Rader Vas, "Professor?" he called nervously, his eyes fixed on the closed door at the top of the landing, "Professor Vas?"

Past Ron's occasional squeals of fright, Harry heard a low groan and froze, waiting for the door to open. Instead, the groans appeared again but much closer and much nearer.

He looked past a bloody hand print and saw the mangled legs of the bleeding victim, "Ron, over here!" he cried and pounced on the crimson stained figure lying on the steps.

The black clothes were torn severely and shining as fresh blood soaked the fabric. His hair was matted about his face, the head lolled to one side to reveal a white gauze attached to the throat.

"What the bloody hell happened to him?" Ron cried as he knelt beside Harry.

"Nice joke, Ron," he muttered, "I need more light. Conjure some."

Ron fumbled for his wand with trembling fingers and stuttered, trying to remember the charm, "what is it?" he eventually cried in anguish, unable to think when under pressure.

"Lumos!" Harry shouted, fast losing patience as he looked through the torn clothing to see the extent of the wounds.

Eventually Ron managed to produce a steady beam of white torch light that finally allowed the figure to be attended to properly.

It turned Harry's stomach looking at the vicious welts in the pale skin and smelling the bittersweet, metallic stench of blood, but he had to carry on.

"We should get him to Madame Pomfrey," Ron muttered, his hand shaking and juddering the beam so that Harry was not only dizzy from the nature of his work but also from the unsteady light.

"No," he barked, "we can't let him see Alexa."

"Why not?"

Harry wasn't sure, but knew it had something to do with the weapons he'd found in Vas' office, "we just can't," he replied and carried on.

Using the advanced healing spell Alexa had taught him, Harry managed to knit the wounds together so that the only risk to his patient was the reddened gauze on his neck. He reached up and gently peeled it off, revealing two wide puncture marks that were still oozing blood from the veins beneath.

"See those?" he asked of Ron, who bent in for a closer look, "remind you of anything?"

"Vampire bites?"

Harry nodded, "from a male, given the size, but that could also indicate an old female," he said as he covered them with his hand, "so much for peaceful."

His hand emitted its healing blue glow and within a few moments, the patient was out of danger but still unconscious.

"So, what is our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher doing messing with Vampires?" Ron asked.

"And climbing down walls to get out of the castle."

To illustrate this fact, he indicated the smashed fingernails and grazed hands, and told Ron about what he and Hermione had seen.

"Who the hell is he?" Ron asked in astonishment, "this is just too weird."

Harry nodded in agreement but remained silent, both boys waiting for their Professor to regain consciousness.

"Do you think he really _is_ a Deatheater?" Ron muttered, his eyes fixed on Vas unblinkingly, "I mean, that would explain the Vampire attack, wouldn't it?"

"It would. The clans aren't too happy with Voldemort for what happened to Alexa's father, but why would they draw attention to themselves by attacking a Hogwarts teacher?"

Ron shrugged, "unless he was a threat," he muttered, "are you sure Alexa hasn't done this? You said yourself that she's becoming more Vampire. And you saw her drink from Bellatrix LeStrange last year."

"The marks were too thick to come from her. Female Vampires' teeth are more slender at Alexa's age, and his other wounds indicate that he was running. Those grazes to his legs were caused by bush branches, and she is in no fit state to chase anyone anywhere."

"So another question to add to the list is where was he and what was he doing to warrant a beating?"

Further speculation between the two Gryffindors was halted when Vas spluttered, his eyes flicking open. It took a second or two for him to regain full consciousness, but when he did he jarred upwards abruptly.

His flailing arms knocked Ron away and Harry was almost greeted with blows were it not for his reflexes.

"Professor, it's alright," he said soothingly, Rader fully away and panting for breath, his eyes wide and staring, "what happened?"

The man instantly searched his torso and legs for his now absent wounds and then glared menacingly at Harry, "Auror," he hissed and crawled up the remaining steps as if trying to get away from his pupil.

"Professor?"

Vas pointed a quivering finger at him as he raised himself to his full height, "Auror spell. Friend of Vampires!" he cried, mad from delirium.

Harry was floored from shock, "I don't know what you mean, sir," he said, "I know a healing spell and used it to save you. Were you attacked by a Vampire?"

The accusing finger steadied, "this is all because of you. The world is in chaos because of you. Friend of Vampires!"

"You need to get to the hospital wing," Harry protested, "you're suffering from delirium."

Vas shook his head and backed towards his office door, "someone has to stop you. The scourge is near, all pestilence will be purged and your evil will be stopped."

With a final malevolent glare, he ducked into his office and slammed the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry and Ron were stunned into silence, but Harry's thoughts played loud in his mind. The scourge must be the Chimeras, and if they were near then time was running out fast. But how could Professor Vas consider him evil?

"We've got to go to Dumbledore," Harry muttered as Ron picked himself up off the floor.

"How could he know about your relations with the Vampires?" he asked, "you've only met those old guys once."

Harry shrugged, "whatever it is, it isn't good. Let's go."

He led Ron from the classroom and the pair hurtled down the corridors to Dumbledore's office, or rather the great Phoenix statue that marked the entrance, "sherbert lemon," he muttered, activating the rotating staircase that carried him and Ron up the shaft to the thick oak door.

He hesitated before knocking. Inside, Harry heard the scraping of a chair and muffled voices before the door opened and McGonagall's face appeared in the crack.

"We're busy, Mr. Potter," she said in a stern voice.

"But Professor..." he tried to protest, but the Head of Gryffindor shook her head,

"Whatever it is, it will have to wait," she barked and gestured to someone behind the door, "please go and occupy yourselves with something more productive than disturbing the Headmaster."

Hagrid appeared over her shoulder and squeezed through the door while McGonagall tried to conceal the events inside from the boys.

It did no good, for Harry saw everyone he recognised from the Order of the Phoenix, and the nature of their gathering appeared extremely serious.

"Come on yer two," Hagrid said and ushered them back down the stairs as McGonagall quickly closed the door.

"Hagrid, what's going on?" Harry exclaimed, "why couldn't we see Professor Dumbledore?"

"Not here," Hagrid muttered and the trio maintained an uneasy silence until they were well clear of the grounds and walking down the steep, rocky hill to Hagrid's hut.

A thick mist had settled around Hogwarts, chilling the air, so that when they reached the warm, Gamekeeper's house, they were shivering and looking forward to one of Hagrid's generous cups of tea.

The part-giant bustled about preparing refreshments for his guests, all the time avoiding eye contact.

Eventually Harry couldn't stand the suspense any longer, "Hagrid, why wouldn't McGonagall..."

"Now, Harry," Hagrid interrupted, "don' go rushin' me. You're not even meant to be here."

The two Gryffindors waited with baited breath for the tea to be made. Hagrid took his time, evidently nervous about disobeying explicit instructions.

With trembling hands, he placed a plate of cakes on the chipped table - that the boys had no intention of eating - and eventually presented them with their mugs of tea, "you know you're not supposed to know this?" he said after taking a deep breath, "Dumbledore will be furious if he finds out."

"We won't breathe a word, honest," Ron said.

"Good. Now, the Order's been called together for an emergency meeting. Things are so bad that Dumbledore didn't wait to get to Grimmauld Place."

"What's happened?" Harry enquired as gently as he could, given his eagerness.

"The Order was hoping that they'd be able to figure out the way to raise the Chimeras before Voldemort, but they were too late. He's had spies in the Department of Mysteries for months and has used the ancient texts in there to learn the ceremony."

"But if the answers were within the Ministry, how could Fudge not have destroyed them?" Harry demanded. Fudge was an incompetent fool who would rather sit on his hands and do nothing than take a stand.

"Fudge only had _part_ of the answer," Hagrid said, "Dumbledore has been explaining that the rituals in the Department of Mysteries is almost as old as time itself. Obviously something that old must have seen a few wars and was torn in half some time during the early ages of the Ministry. No one knew what it was for and so locked it away. Evidently You-Know-Who figured that it was important or something. Besides, when Dumbledore talked to Fudge about his suspicions, the Minister decided that he wouldn't cooperate with us unless we handed Alexa over," Hagrid replied, "he isn't completely stupid and knows that it was the Order that saved her and that they are now harbouring her. Obviously Dumbledore refused. There's no way he'd hand our most powerful ally over to Fudge, who'd kill her, and so now he won't help the Order."

"Didn't Dumbledore explain the risks?"

"Of course he did, but the Minister won't listen. He's convinced himself that the only threat to the people at the moment comes from the Vampire migration restriction that he relaxed."

"So now the Vampires are being blamed for everything?"

Hagrid nodded, "he's even put together a special Death Squad that are hunting the clans down and destroying them."

"Which is probably full of Deatheaters," Ron mumbled.

"Let's just say that Lucius Malfoy is one of the ones in charge of it. There's the rumour going round that he gets his information from this bloke that no one's ever seen. Apparently he's the one that knows where all the Vampires are, but no one knows how. See, that's what's got 'em all running scared. If all the Vampires are destroyed, there's no one strong enough to withstand the storm that's coming."

"How can no one have seen him?" Ron asked.

Hagrid shrugged, "I dunno, but that's how it is. But whoever is betraying the Vampires had better watch out, because they're after blood. They're angry, and you don't get in their way when they are."

"So what about the Chimeras now?" Harry asked, "if Voldemort knows how to raise them, how are we going to stop him in time?"

Hagrid shook his head, "I don't know, Harry. We just have to hope that something turns up."

"We can't just sit around hoping!" he shrieked in response, "if that's all we do, then everyone will die. There must be something!"

Ron cleared his throat, "why are the Vampires so important in all this?" he asked, "what makes them so good that they can take on such evil beasts and win?"

Harry and Hagrid sat in contemplative silence. Ron's question wasn't as stupid as it had first sounded. Actually, it made perfect sense.

"I'm going to put that to Alexa," Harry said, "I'll go and see her tonight."

"Be careful, Harry," Hagrid warned, "Dumbledore's getting worried about her. Apparently, Professor Sprout found her prowling about the corridors like a starved wolf this afternoon. Madame Pomfrey is worried that the survival instinct that kept her alive in the woods is corrupting her goodness and bringing the Vampire to the surface."

"No one can deny that evil is part of her nature, but she is still the same Alexa. She'll get better," Harry protested.

"Dumbledore's told Snape to brew the potion that suppresses her cravings until she's fit enough to hunt. That should keep her ramblings down to a minimum and keep everyone safe."

"That's better than nothing," Harry thought out loud, "but that just makes me worry."

"About what?" Ron asked with a concerned frown.

"If it actually was Alexa that attacked Professor Vas."

"You said it couldn't have been!" Ron cried.

"But what if I'm wrong?"

Hagrid looked worried, "when did this happen?"

Harry explained their grizzly findings and how they'd wanted to tell the Headmaster but couldn't.

At the conclusion of his explanation, Hagrid look relieved, "it couldn't have been her," he said, "Dumbledore was visiting her and reported that she hadn't been up at all. Even Madame Pomfrey said so."

"Then who _did_ attack him?"

No one could answer him, because with the Vampires guarding the school every night, there were plenty of possible culprits. But the one Harry suspected the most was Vladmiran. The Chieftan had made it clear that he would protect his High Priestess at any cost. Perhaps it had been Vas who had gotten in the way first. He may be the oldest and most seemingly 'holy' - however holy you could get being a demon - but you didn't get to Vladmiran's eight hundred years without developing a taste for the more sly and cunning traits of his kind.

"So how are the convoys going?" Harry asked in what he hoped had appeared to the naive Hagrid as innocent curiosity.

Hagrid shook his shaggy head, "not good, Harry. The Order is under pressure from the Elders to deliver Transylvanians, but Voldemort is blocking them every time. Dumbledore would never admit this to yer, Harry, but the Order's falling apart. Fingers are being pointed because they've convinced themselves that there's a traitor amongst them."

"That's ridiculous! How could they think that?"

"Because they're desperate for answers and no one knows anything. It's all a mess."

"Don't worry, Hagrid, I'll talk to Alexa and try and get her involved. She'll sort things out."

"Just be careful," the giant muttered as the two Gryffindors left the warmth of the hut and began their long walk back to the castle.

"How could the Order turn on itself?" Ron exclaimed, "it's bloody madness! As if any of them are traitors!"

Harry shrugged as they followed the loose gravel path by the edge of the forest, "it's the only thing that makes sense to them right now. No one has an explanation why Voldemort knows where the convoys are landing or where he is in the first place and this is the only way they can act."

"What a load of rubbish! I mean, honestly! We could do a better job than they could at the minute, squabbling amongst themselves like a load of babies!" Ron barked as they began the steep incline towards the courtyard.

As they meandered their way up the hill, a beam of red light exploded from the peak and hit Ron squarely in the middle of his chest, knocking him backwards.

"Ron!" Harry exclaimed as another beam streaked towards him.

With lightning reflexes, he grabbed at his wand and conjured a silvery shield around himself, which the beam glanced off with moments to spare, "are you alright?"

His red-haired friend coughed and sat up, rubbing his head where it had hit the sharp pebbles, "Stunning Spell," he mumbled, "it'll pass. Can you see where it came from?"

"No. Let's back into the forest and find some cover," he replied, "we're open targets here."

Keeping their wands raised and their eyes on the summit, the two boys backed off the path and into the line of trees. The darkness gave them a little camouflage and the trees provided hiding places, but they were too far away from the castle to attract anyone's attention. They were very alone.

Just as Harry was about to speak, he heard footsteps disturbing the gravel and a beam of wand light pierced the darkness.

They scuttled behind a thick tree trunk and waited, their hearts pounding in their ears.

Suddenly the steps grew silent. Their attacker had left the path.

Harry squashed himself so close to the tree that he could barely breathe and the bark dug into his cheek, but rather that than be caught by whoever was after them. He fancied that it was Draco Malfoy trying to give him a scare, but the pompous Slytherin could never conjure such a powerful Stunning Spell and hit his target with such precision.

With sharp ears, Harry Potter listened for some sound that would tell him where his attacker was, but there was only an uneasy silence. He could no longer see the wand light but didn't dare hope that the danger had passed.

Suddenly the stillness was split when Ron, almost beside himself with fear, trod on a twig and snapped it.

The breath caught in Harry's throat as a great whistle followed the noise, and several tree trunks to their left exploded, hit by an invisible force. Whoever was stalking them was after a kill.

When all grew quiet again, Harry peered round the side of the trunk and saw the shadowed figure prowling not more than ten feet away. The oppressive dark made it impossible to identify, all he could discern was that it was human in shape and moving closer to him with each passing moment.

As Harry turned to try and make out where they could move to, his right foot nudged a jagged rock and he bent to pick it up. It was the size of his fist and was weighty enough to travel far.

_Ingardum fleccum_, his mental spell whispered in his mind. A tiny spark shot from his wand tip to the rock and began ticking quietly.

With his free arm, he grabbed Ron's elbow and prepared to run. Then, with all his might, Harry threw the rock at the dense shadow and pulled his friend after him, hurrying for the forest opening near Hagrid's hut.

The rock hit the figure with a muffled thud and exploded into a thick green smoke as Harry's concealment charm hid their movement from their attacker's eyes, "run!" he cried to Ron, as they neared daylight.

But the mysterious assailant was smart and cleared the smoke before they could leave the line of trees marking the entrance to the Dark Forest. A body-bind curse hit Ron and paralysed him, and a Stunning Spell drove Harry to the ground in a tangle of limbs and robes.

Breathless, he tried to scramble to his feet but felt a rain of hot knives descend on him. He knew the Cruciatus Curse very well. His body jerked involuntarily as his every nerve set on fire. Tears sprang to his eyes and he cried out in agony, but Ron was unable to help him.

Just as a dull haze of unconsciousness lulled him to sleep, he heard a shrieking battle cry from the high tree branches. The fizzing and crackling sounds of a fierce duel reached him and the Torture Curse grew weak enough for him to break.

Without hesitating, he freed Ron and the pair prepared to run for their lives.

Try as the stalker might, it couldn't repel their mysterious saviour's attacks for long and eventually gave up, casting a final Stunning Spell into the canopy before running deep into the darkness where he disappeared.

"What the bloody hell...?" Ron began to mutter, but was promptly silenced by a gust of wind and the dull thud of feet landing on hard soil.

A hovering ball of amethyst light appeared, illuminating the face of their rescuer.

"Are you alright?" Alexa Flock enquired, slightly dishevelled and heavy in breath from her duel.

Harry and Ron nodded, but were speechless. There was a trail of blood at the corner of her mouth.

"Who on Earth have you been upsetting?"

"I have no idea," Harry replied and gestured at her mouth.

Alexa wiped the blood away and licked it from her hand hungrily, "lucky Dumbledore let me hunt or I might never have got here. He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Did you see who it was?" Harry asked, but she shook her head,

"He was well covered, so even my enhanced night vision couldn't make him out," she replied, "are you both alright?

Harry and Ron nodded and followed her out of the Dark Forest, her ball of light fading as the sun's rays hit it.

"How did you find us?" Ron asked.

"I was hunting not far from here and heard spells being fired. I figured there was trouble and thought I'd lend a hand. I'm still not up to scratch, though. It was a big strain finding the energy to fight, but hopefully I'll be OK soon."

"So Dumbleore's letting you hunt again?" Harry asked, scrutinising her expression for signs of what he had seen earlier.

Her face was still grazed, her hands badly scraped, but her eyes had regained their warm, smiling quality that made everything seemed alright.

She nodded, "he thinks it might purge me of my weird behaviour, and I hope he's right."

"Me too. It wasn't like you to be so...Vampire-ish," Harry muttered.

"They told you about what happened when Professor Sprout found me?"

"Well, Hagrid did," Harry replied, "everyone's being really secretive at the moment."

Alexa heaved a tired sigh as they began the walk up the hill, now free from assailants, "I know and I feel somehow responsible. The crazy thing is, I don't remember anything about what happened. Madame Pomfrey had just given me a mild sleeping draught, but it was like she'd given me a Death-Sleep tonic. I couldn't keep my eyes open! The next thing I remember is opening my eyes to find myself clutching the wall, Professor Sprout calling my name."

"You don't know why you were on the prowl?" Ron asked.

Alexa shook her head vigorously, "no, but I had the most painful cramp in my gut that I've ever had. I couldn't stand up, I just gave out on the floor."

"That's what happens when you haven't fed for a while," Harry thought out loud.

"I thought that I'd left it too long without blood, so Dumbledore had Snape brew a craving suppressant to stop what he called sleep-hunting. That isn't what it was, though. I remember feeling like my mind wasn't my own when I woke up, and the terrifying thing was that I wanted to kill."

"So, you _were_ hungry?" Ron added.

"No, I wanted to kill...for fun."

Harry fixed her with a horrified stare, "but that isn't like you!" he exclaimed, "you only crave evil blood and only hunt when you cannot function anymore."

"Exactly."

In that instant, it was as if the whole world had stopped and merged into a senseless, parallel universe. Alexa Flock was one of the greatest witches the country had ever seen and if there was some external force controlling her Vampire instincts, they were in for a pretty rough ride.

"But how could someone have made you do that?" Harry asked.

Alexa shrugged, "I don't know. It was probably no one at all. I must have just been a little crazy from the poison."

Both Harry and Ron picked up on her scepticism but didn't pursue the matter any further. She knew better than anyone how to control her emotions and instincts, so they saw no reason to worry as they crossed the deserted courtyard and entered the castle through the clock tower entrance with its swinging pendulum.

It was almost time for Harry's detention with Snape, but he had just enough time to broach the subject that burned him from the inside.

"Alexa, what is it about the Vampires that equips them better to fight the Chimeras?"

She heaved a heavy sigh and looked from Harry to Ron and back again, "not here. Library."

With that, they adjourned to the library and walked through the door just as Hermione was preparing to leave, her arms full of heavy books and rolls of parchment, ink splashed like pox across her face, "Alexa!" she gasped in surprise.

The Vampire smiled warmly at her, "the boys would like a story, Hermione. You're welcome to join us?"

She wasted no time in leaving her articles with the irate librarian before hurrying after her friends, following Alexa into the dark and stale recesses where the books were written in middle English and crumbled at a single touch.

The age and language of the texts didn't bother Alexa, who began pulling volumes from the shelves without breaking stride. She placed them down on a table, clearing the many unwanted books with a wave of her hand, her powers still a little uneasy as could be seen from the juddering piles that moved away.

They all sat around the table and watched as she organised the books. How she did this, Harry and his friends couldn't deduce, because the middle English titles had even Hermione flummoxed.

Alexa smiled at their confused frowns, "Hogwarts only has a few books on Vampire history that are worth looking at and these are they. But no one ever cares to learn the real story behind our history, hence the fact that these have not been translated into modern English. This is why I needed the Transylvanian Library of Past, because that is the most comprehensive collection of Vampire texts in the world."

"Did you learn anything about the Chimeras?" Hermione asked, but Alexa ignored the question and sat down, the books arranged in a curious diamond shape on the table.

Instead, she began her story, "the Chimeras were brought forward in 1102 to obliterate the Vampire subculture. The first recorded 'Minister for Magic' was Dedalus Fudge, a descendent of Cornelius. But the title of 'Minister for Magic' was not coined for another four centuries. In 1102, Dedalus was termed the Lord Overseer and generally ran everything himself."

She opened one of the books at an engraving of the Lord Overseer himself, looking regal and elegant with his head held high. But his face was thin and pinched with lines for lips and slits for eyes.

"He looks evil," Ron muttered.

Alexa nodded, "he was quite a just Lord for a while but then the worst happened. His wife was murdered. Dedalus was convinced that it was an organised Vampire attack and that started the Bloodbath. Only when the Chimeras were defeated did he learn that it was his rival who had arranged for his wife's murder as a way of destabilising him. The Vampire clans called for justice to be done and so Dedalus was delivered to them for Bloodlaw to decide his fate."

"What happened to him?" Hermione asked, eyes wide with fear.

"The Chieftan - Das - demanded that his essence be drained and burned in green fire, his limbs removed of their flesh and reduced to ash. His heart and brain were sacrificed to the Chimera King as a gesture of peace between our races. His skull and rib-cage were displayed outside Das' hut as a warning to everyone who would dare cross us."

"You have a flare for the grizzly, don't you?" Ron exclaimed with a disgusted shiver.

Alexa smiled, "it is our nature," she replied.

"So how did they defeat the Chimeras?" Hermione enquired.

"Well, my people are more mystical than any of the magical creatures that exist today. We have a deeply rooted magical history, from the first Chieftan right up to the Highs. But our magical essence did not come naturally to us. In 1092, a young Vampire known as Mikhiel was out hunting in the forest. He heard the cries of an old woman and went to investigate. Lying at the foot of the oldest oak in the forest was an old witch, She was dying. She told him to feed on her blood so that a part of her soul and power would always live on. You see, history states that Mikhiel was a warrior for good," she opened the next book and showed them black and white images of horrendous battle scenes and a lonely figure stood amongst a sea of the dead, "in every war before 1102, records state that there was always one man who was like a demon. He took many blows but never died, and only rested when all the enemies were obliterated, then he would vanish like a ghost never to be seen again. His valour had drawn the dying witch to him. She knew that a great evil was ready to be set on the world and the only way it could be stopped was through a uniting of magic and the un-dead. Mikhiel was 'dying' of hunger and obliged, drinking the witch's blood as requested. With her final breath, she gave God's blessing and thanked him."

Alexa used her magic to turn to another ancient image, one of a beautiful woman with long ebony hair and large, knowing eyes. Even in the engraving, she had a powerful presence.

Hermione gasped, "that's Hettina Haggis, the first Auror!" she shrieked.

Harry and Ron jostled for a better view of the picture, "who?" Ron asked stupidly.

"Hettina Haggis!" Hermione exclaimed, disgusted at the boys' lack of understanding, "of course, they weren't called Aurors when they were first established in 1004."

"No, they were simply called Defenders. For fifty years, Hettina was the only Defender. Harry, you will learn more about her at Evellis Academy because she was the founder and plays a huge part in our Ministry's early history. Dedalus wasn't pleased with the idea of having a group of witches and wizards in the positions of power that could eventually be a rival for his. Like Cornelius today, Dedalus was afraid of all those more powerful than him, so when Hettina was reaching her prime, he banished her. She knew that the people still needed warriors and so formed Evellis Academy in secret, recruiting only the finest witches and wizards. Socially speaking, she was the pioneer of equal rights between the sexes. But even the first Auror cannot live forever, even though she outlived many of the early Ministry's officials."

"So what happened to Mikhiel?" Harry asked impatiently.

"Well, he continued his normal Vampire life, unaware that his magic was maturing. At the turn of the century, he discovered his abilities and went to Das for help. The Elders were horrified, because his magic was unnatural for a Vampire, and he was cast out, banished to wander in exile for eternity. It was in exile that he learned to hone and develop his powers."

"That's awful," Hermione muttered, "but I suppose everyone is afraid of those with power."

Alexa nodded, "my kind is no exception. So, Mikhiel existed completely alone, his true love forbidden from seeking him out. By the time the Chimeras were summoned by Dedalus after his wife was murdered, he had risen to the power of the first High Priest of the Vampires. He joined the hundreds of my kind that had risen up to fight but was the only one that could match the Chimera King - Kuut - in strength. As Vampires fell into ash, Mikhiel and Kuut fought on. Their fight went on for nine days but Mikhiel began to fall ill from exhaustion. Just as Kuut made ready his final blow, Mikhiel heard the screams of his love - Serenna. Seeing that she was about to perish, he prayed that his sacrifice would be rewarded and staked himself, knowing that his sacrifice would make God look more favourably on his brethren's souls - dead and un-dead. He died out of an act of love, perishing in order to save Serenna and his people. As his soul split, the gateway to the prison dimension - Mahtor - opened and claimed the Chimeras back, sealing them away for eternity."

"So, it was an act of love that closed the portal," Harry thought out loud.

Alexa nodded, "but the only way the portal can be sealed, never to be opened again, is if every evil feeling in the world is conquered and the remaining creatures exist in utopia. Serenna's feelings about Mikhiel's death were bitter, mainly because she couldn't be with him before he died. She blamed Das for that and swore never to forgive the Elders. She has become a very twisted creature that thrives on pain, and is one of the most dangerous Vampires that exist."

"You mean she's still alive?" Ron shrieked, "that's impossible! That would make her nearly a thousand years old!"

Alexa smiled, "one-thousand-and-twenty, to be exact. She was sired in 988."

Harry frowned, "but I thought that Vladmiran was the oldest Vampire?"

"Well, Serenna hasn't existed on this dimensional plane since 1405. She went slightly insane and the Elders decided to remove her to keep the Vampires safe."

"So where does she exist now?" Harry asked.

"No one is quite sure. She hasn't been banished, she can still pass freely between dimensions, but she can only remain on this plane for a hundred days every thousand years."

"She must be one bad-ass Vamp," Ron mumbled.

"Serenna massacred a hundred families of humans and three Vampire clans before she was removed. She will not discriminate in who she kills. Vampire, human, giant, dwarf, ogre. Lives are expendable to her. But she is cursed to follow the directions of the next High, hence my ability to control her."

"That's why you need her to help get the Map from Fudge?" Harry added.

Alexa nodded, "Serenna is infamous amongst the Ministry because of her bloodlust. Out of all the Vampires, she is the most feared."

There was a long pause, during which Harry had time to contemplate. Normal Vampires had an edge on the Chimeras because they were physiologically dead and could last longer in battle, but it was their potential for magic that made them all the more formidable.

He had never before appreciated how much culture they possessed until he met Alexa. She had opened his eyes to new possibilities and theologies, and he would always be thankful.

"Do you know as much about Siren history?" he asked, noting how easy it was to forget her mixed heritage.

Alexa shook her head, "all I know is that it's pretty boring stuff compared to that of the Vampires. All the Sirens did throughout history was sit on rocky shore-lines, singing their hypnotic melodies and luring sailors to their death. Mum wasn't altogether too happy about recounting the history of her kind, whereas my Dad used to tell me a lot of stories from ancient times and that sparked my interest. When I was a student here, I haunted these parts of the library, reading everything I could with the tiniest mention of the un-dead. Most if it was biassed rubbish, but then I found the old and middle English texts. It ended there. Ancient writers had more respect for us, mainly because they were so afraid."

"It's good that the Elders took you back in after your years at the Ministry," Harry thought out loud.

She nodded, "they appreciated that I hadn't abandoned their teachings and so accepted me back. They also knew what I'd been through with the loss of my family when so young. Vladmiran is a generous man."

Harry wanted to voice his suspicions about the Chieftan, but decided to wait until he had more proof. So, with their task completed, the Gryffindors retired to their common room, Harry detouring to his detention with Snape, and Alexa returned to Madame Pomfrey's care.


	5. Chapter 5

With a more peaceful atmosphere, Hogwarts began the wind-down to the Christmas holidays. Young witches and wizards from all houses were filled with the season's exuberance, and even the teachers found themselves infected with jolly tidings, all excepting Snape of course. His sour face still cast misery over his students, but they resisted his negative influence and focussed on the rapidly approaching holidays.

The Gryffindor common room became progressively emptier as Harry's peers packed up for the holidays and departed for home.

Hermione's family had taken a skiing holiday in Aspen, but the Weasleys were at the Grimmauld Place house. They had sent a letter addressed to the three friends, inviting them all to stay at the house with them, but Harry was sceptical about leaving Alexa, given the unusual events.

Only a few days had passed since she had saved Harry and Ron from their mysterious attacker, but events occurred that threatened the balance of everything.

Rader Vas had abandoned his teaching post without explanation and had disappeared, and Vladmiran and the Order of the Phoenix were at loggerheads because a message from Romania had reported a Deatheater attack.

They had attacked in daylight, setting fire to settlements and driving the Vampires out into the burning sunlight. Almost forty of the Order's un-dead allies had been lost, the rest driven into hiding.

The Transylvanian clan leader had declared that they could not afford to lose any more of their people and had said that the Difforg convoy would go ahead as planned, but no more warriors would be risked.

The Order knew that they were in trouble and had conducted many meetings with Dumbledore to try and find a solution to Voldemort's intelligence. The final convoy wasn't due to arrive for a few days, so that gave Alexa plenty of time to investigate their suspicions regarding the Map.

She travelled on the Hogwarts Express back to King's Cross with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, reminiscing about her own school days cooped up in a booth of Slytherins, an outcast because she had been defined as 'weird'.

"It got to the point that I'd fly to the castle to avoid encounters with everyone," she said, much to the surprise of her companions.

"You can fly?" Ron exclaimed in astonishment.

"Well, only on a full moon," she replied with a modest shrug, "Vampire strength is directly associated with the lunar cycle, so every full moon, our power is at its peak and we can transform into a bat and fly. It was coincidental that we had to journey back to Hogwarts every year on a full moon. When Sirius learned of my heritage, he used to meet me in the courtyard after the feast. He was the only reason I came back."

"You really miss him, don't you?" Harry said with an understanding smile.

Alexa Flock nodded without hesitation, "every moment. Not a day goes by that I don't wish I could have saved him that night."

"Or died with him?"

Silence descended after Harry's unexpected question, but Alexa wasn't particularly offended by it. In fact, she seemed to be in agreement, "technically, being a Vampire I'm already dead," she replied and gazed out of the window at the passing landscape, her mind consumed with her love for the departed fugitive.

Harry watched as her attention drifted out of the carriage window, a peaceful smile lighting her flawless features.

Her wounds were completely healed now, not a single trace left behind that could betray the many events of the past few weeks. But as he watched her transfixed face, he took in the sheer, silvery beauty that emanated from her. She seemed so soft and delicate, a far cry from the woman who had saved him from Voldemort less than a year ago.

It was her passion that gave Alexa Flock her strength, and the mention of Sirius had clearly brought that back.

Reaching into his pocket, Harry found the tightly folded square of parchment that contained all the love that she had been denied. He was sorry he'd kept it so long, but knew that now was the time to return it, "here," he mumbled and held it in his upturned palm.

Breaking free from her dreams, she gazed at it in surprise, "where did you find that?"

Ashamedly, Harry recounted his salvaging of her treasured possession, apologising for reading it.

"It's good that you know what kind of love your Godfather was capable of, Harry," she answered with a smile, clutching it to her chest, "especially given the horrible rumours that you have to endure."

"What was he like?" It was a question he'd wanted to ask so many times. He knew Sirius was a kind, generous man who had cared a great deal for Harry's father, James, but somehow that still wasn't quite enough.

Alexa grinned, hugging her cloak tight around her toned frame as if wishing he was there beside her, "he was quite a colourful soul at school, prone to jokes and mischievousness, but was intensely passionate about those closest to him, especially James. Your Dad was there for him through the toughest times, when his family's Pureblood mania grew too much to bear. That was before I met him, of course. I remember our first class together was Charms. He and James were mucking about as usual, and I thought they were a pair of twits. Well, he charmed a paper aeroplane and sent it flapping around the classroom. I was the weird kid at the back who no one spoke to, so he tried teasing me with it. I singed it with a non-verbal spell just as the Professor looked up. He startled me and I lost control and set fire to the desk. We both ended up getting sent out to stand in the corridor."

"What happened then?" Harry asked.

"He looked at me and said, 'you're weird', and I replied, 'well, you're a self confident twit who shouldn't judge a wand by its wood.' The ice broke and the rest is history. We started dating about a year and a half later. Turbulent times, but they were the best of my life. Everything was simple at school. Only Sirius and Dumbledore truly believed that I could be and do anything."

"How did you find out that he'd died?"

"I saw Tonks crying the following day and got her to tell me. I was devastated. I'd been trying to find him for months but hadn't managed to. Dumbledore had him really protected. The letter dropped on my desk last year and it's been with me ever since. I can't bear to be parted from it."

"I wish you could have seen him before he'd died."

"Me more than anyone, Harry," she replied as the lights of civilisation appeared as the train neared King's Cross station, "me more than anyone."

Platform nine-and-three-quarters was full of waving and jostling families, swamped in smoke from the scarlet engine. Harry, Ron and Hermione clustered around the window and waited for the Weasley parents to come into view through the white haze.

"There they are!" Ron exclaimed, waving vigorously at his parents.

Alexa smiled, envious of the red-haired teen. Being back on the Hogwarts Express had brought back a great deal of sad memories, particularly ones of her sat in a carriage all alone, an outcast with no one to collect her.

Her few months at St. Augustine's Refuge for Orphans had been the most sorry ones of her life. The institution was run by a sisterhood of witches who had built an orphanage in their tumbledown, three-storey townhouse.

They were an acceptable group of people but they were normal, something that a young Alexa Flock didn't know how to be.

Thinking that she could continue her more sinister ways in secret, she had tried to hunt every full moon under cover of darkness, but Sister Tilda had discovered her mid-feast.

Dumbledore had swept in to settle their nerves and ease the horror, but Alexa was cast out, doomed to reside at Hogwarts permanently.

The months that the castle was empty gave her plenty of time to study, but she had always longed for a family, and seeing the cheerful, loving Weasleys again made her Vampire heart ache for the family that Voldemort had destroyed.

Molly and Arthur Weasley were waiting near the door when they disembarked, helping them with their heavy trunks and showering them with kisses and crushing them with hugs.

"Alexa!" Molly exclaimed and embraced the sickly looking Auror, "so wonderful to see that you're well again. How are you?"

"Just surviving, Molly," she replied with a watery smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Well, you all can just come along with us. We've got a big dinner cooking at the house."

Alexa was subjected to painstaking questioning from Molly all the way to Grimmauld Place, but she was grateful for the conversation, even though her own questions regarding the Difforg clan went unanswered.

Although she suspected that they were a little uneasy about the ceremony at sunset. Serenna and Vokul were to be pulled out of their exile tonight.

The Grimmauld Place house was as dusty and unpleasant as ever, but the faint whispers of Christmas had infected its dank interior, a Christmas tree in mid-decoration in what was thought to be the living room, tinsel draped across the grimy portraits (which Kreacher had done his best to steal away) and sprigs of mistletoe dangled above the doorways.

"We've tried to make it more homely, dear," Molly said to Harry, patting his shoulder as Kreacher skulked away with a red bauble from the tree while her back was turned.

Harry thanked her and climbed the stairs to his room. Everything was as it had been left, the thick, months-old layer of dust evidence to the lack of intrusion.

He began to unpack his heavy trunk, pondering over the disappearance of Rader Vas.

He was convinced that it was the silent Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who had attacked him and Ron, but it was why that had him flummoxed.

For some reason, the sheltered and more-than-slightly-mad Professor had branded him as evil, but it was his reference to the 'scourge' that sent shivers down his spine.

_All pestilence will be purged_.

Harry fancied that the scourge was the Chimeras, but was Vas involved with their rising somehow? He had often disappeared into the forest for secret rendezvous, but could it have been with Voldemort?

He was hailed to go for dinner shortly after and the magnificent spread that Mrs. Weasley had set out drove all thoughts about Rader Vas from his mind, faced as he was with mashed potatoes, sausages and thick, onion gravy.

Even Alexa tucked into the delicious food, "wonderful spread, Molly," she complimented, "even a black-hearted murderer never tastes quite this good!"

The stomach-tormenting scents of dinnertime attracted the arrival of Lupin, Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley and a great many others, so their table was a full one as everyone arrived in readiness for the ceremony.

Alexa found herself to be the topic of conversation, given not only her miraculous survival but her unmasking the only plausible way that Voldemort was learning their plans.

However all celebrations halted with the arrival of Vladmiran and his entourage. Dressed in a bejewelled, teal robe trimmed with crimson thread that was like a single, narrow capillary bleeding into his robe, the great, gaunt Chieftan stepped into the kitchen.

He cast a judgmental eye about the proceedings, taking in the empty plates and steaming pans on the cooker.

"I trust we are not interrupting?" he growled as the assembled agents stood out of fear, not respect.

"Not at all," Alexa raised her voice from the foot of the table, the only one who dared to remain seated, "we were just enjoying some light conversation after our meal."

Vladmiran's eyes narrowed, disapproving of the frivolity, but managed to soften his face in the presence of his High Priestess, "very well," he mumbled, "we are here only for the ceremony."

Harry, Ron and Hermione felt the Elders' disdain for the lives around them, Harry knowing all too well that relations between the Elders and the Order were frayed to the point of severing. The situation was delicate and it was important that the ceremony go without interference.

"Then let's get started, shall we?" Alexa stated and stood, wooden chair legs scraping on the floor, "we're burning moonlight just standing here in these foul moods."

She led the way through a narrow door that led towards the back of the house, passing through the disorderly library of dark texts that all were forbidden to enter, given its concealed evil.

Harry dared not look at any of the book titles, but clearly Hermione didn't have his restraint, gasping at some unknown horror.

Through an elegant pair of murky French doors lay the small piece of garden that belonged to the house of the Blacks. Not a thing grew from the stale soil from what Harry could see from the bright moon rays. All that resembled a family garden was the presence of a tall stone fountain, fashioned in the shape of a handsome warrior with sword pointed at an ugly hag, water pouring from ten holes in her torso.

Hermione gasped again at the brutality of Sirius' family, Ron turning pale at the sight of bones littering the ground.

There was a pungent smell of burnt ash on the still night air, not even a single bird filling the night with tuneful melody.

Vladmiran pushed through and circled the expanse of soil, arms stretched in front of him and fingers working some kind of magic in the air, "I feel Vokul's presence. Serenna is close by. Now is the time," he said excitedly.

Alexa simply nodded, "so it is, but the Order is not yet complete."

Dumbledore and his teachers were still absent.

Vladmiran growled impatiently, "time grows short. The Old One has kept us waiting enough!"

"We require everyone's presence," she barked, "we wait."

"They are waiting to be given passage. We cannot keep them any longer!"

"Yes we can."

Vladmiran wished he could answer but knew that he was outnumbered. His authority with his people was feeble in comparison to Alexa's, and he sensed that the Order of the Phoenix also disliked his presence, "yes High Priestess," he mumbled, despite the agitation of his fellow Elders.

Admitting defeat, he took a few steps back and waited in the protective womb of his disciples while Alexa stayed at the front of the gathering, listening into the night.

Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape apparated into the garden before Vladmiran's temper could fray any further, full of apologies for their lateness.

Alexa permitted her friends a smile but duly noted their displeasure at being present at the Summoning.

Albus' lips were lost in his silver beard, Minerva's face set in stone. Snape's was the only unchanged expression, the disdain and loathing pouring from his flint-like eyes.

"There is no need for twitchiness now," Alexa said, glaring at the Chieftan with venom, "begin your ceremony."

Bowing low with his face turned down, the centuries old Vampire began to circle the fountain, spreading a great cloud of ancient dust from a pouch on his hip.

Samel, Nikol and Borsun followed in his footsteps, swinging pendulums of foul-smelling incense in front of them as their Chieftan began to chant in an ancient language.

The air became heavy and close as it charged with ancient magic, the burning stench of charred flesh clogging the observers' throats and strangling them with horror as the fountain's water turned grey.

"_Let the ashes of our dead bring forth the way_," Alexa's voice spoke over the Elders' chanting, "_let the moon light the marker and unlock the field_."

"_Let it be so_," Samel, Nikol and Borsun chanted in unison, their voices ominous and forbidding.

"_Those that watch through the veil shall walk with us again_."

"_Let it be so_."

"_With the millenium's turn, let her century begin_."

"_Open the gateway_."

The Elders finished their circling and arranged themselves in a line a few steps behind Alexa.

"_Let blood pave the way to their journey_."

Taking a step forwards, she removed an ornate knife from the folds of her robe and made a deep cut into the line of her palm. Dipping her hand into the greyed fountain water, she turned it red and the ground began to tremble and groan, the fountain basin bubbling ferociously.

The air was suddenly filled with the sound of hundreds of long-dead voices raised to deafening heights as Alexa's colossal magic tapped into the forces of metaphysical law itself, locating the tiniest disturbance in reality and channelling her magic into it.

"_With my power, break; with my power, crack; with my power, _open!" Alexa shrieked above the din and her final will caused an explosion of brilliant light, inside which two silhouettes appeared.

The gathered witches and wizards shielded their eyes from the bright force while the Vampires looked on with pride. But only when the light absorbed into itself did the summoned creatures come into view.

They looked just like normal humans apart from the dark brown, patchwork skins that adorned their athletic figures.

The one that the Vampires called Serenna was the fiercest, with long raven hair framing her face, jet black eyes like two pools of acid, and thin, crimson lips stained with the blood of countless kills. Her nails were long and sharpened into points, and her long, sinewy limbs held throbbing muscles that ached for battle.

Vokul appeared slightly younger than Serenna but was easily a foot taller, his muscles toned from hours of hunting. His chest was bare but for a thick belt that held a holster to his back, no doubt for the crossbow that he held across his body, finger lingering over the trigger. His black hair hung down and lapped his shoulders, knotted from lack of care.

The two Vampires glared at each person in turn with their accusing eyes but neither spoke as they walked confidently towards Alexa. Then they did the unexpected - they knelt before her.

"Welcome back Serenna and son, Vokul," she greeted her fellows warmly, "we are in dangerous times and you are needed. Will you serve?"

Serenna and Vokul bowed their heads respectfully, "until death, so the High Priestess commands," Serenna said in a voice hardened by loss.

Harry could read the pain she felt from losing a loved one, because he could see that same pain mirrored in Alexa and himself.

Vladmiran stepped forward and began babbling compliments effortlessly, leading the two Vampires out of the cold night under the guise of discussing future plans.

Alexa stayed behind.

"Will you be able to control them?" Dumbledore asked with a concerned frown.

"They are cursed to obey the High that summons them," she replied.

"That is what I am afraid of."

"Albus, Serenna and Vokul are here to help our cause and are worth a hundred Vampires. We need them."

"Very well," the old Headmaster muttered with more than a hint of disapproval, "just as long as they are kept close. I do not trust them."

With that, he turned and swept into the library without a backward glance, his shoulders hunched as the weight of their exploits weighed down his resolve.

He was uncomfortable with Alexa's plans for Fudge, but knew that the Dark Lord was bearing down upon them, his evil saturating the atmosphere as if trying to suffocate all goodness from the world.

Alexa was the best strategist in the Auror community, but he was beginning to fancy that she had been with the Vampires too long. Albus could see the darkness rising in her eyes, and found himself praying that she would find her way back from its tempting embrace.

Harry saw all that Dumbledore did but couldn't bring himself to leave her. Her straight, rigid posture was sagging, her knees beginning to buckle. There was more silver in her skin than was natural and her full lips had thinned as the blood drained from her face.

Suddenly, she folded under her own weight and began to fall, but he had anticipated her ill turn and a sudden burst of speed allowed him to catch her before she hit the ground.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her eyes fighting to stay open, "I don't think I've healed as well as I thought."

"You just used too much magic," he replied, enjoying the feeling of her arm wrapped around his neck and her head resting on his shoulder, letting him lose himself in the fiery scent of her hair. But he felt her breathing growing more shallow as he held her, "Alexa?" He tiled her head towards his face but she didn't response. She was icy to the touch.

Struggling to lift her, he slowly made his way through the library, avoiding the rowdy kitchen where an argument was ensuing between Vladmiran and Dumbledore.

Pushing a door open, he shuffled down the dusty corridor and up the winding stairs to where there was an empty bedroom. He lay her down on the firm bed and switched on the bedside light, marvelling at how sickly she looked in the soft glow.

Her skin was almost luminous, a cold sweat dampening her face. Harry moved a stray lock of hair from her face, startled when she stirred and woke.

"Are you alright?" he asked with a concerned frown.

"I'm not sure," she whispered, examining her trembling hands with fear in her face, "I feel strange."

"You must have pushed yourself too early," he said, but it was a watery explanation that she refused to accept.

"This isn't that," she said, fixing him with her terrified eyes, the iris more red than it should have been, "I don't know what it is, but something happened to me during the ceremony. I wanted a massacre."

"What do you mean?" Harry sat further back in his seat, scared of the hungry glint in her eyes.

"It's like what happened when Professor Sprout found me," Alexa said, her voice trembling, "evil. Why am I having evil thoughts? This isn't me! I'm not evil, I'm not. Harry..."

He shushed her like he would a child terrified by a nightmare and stroked her hair, trying to soothe her. She held his arms as he did, her grip painfully tight, "maybe it's the poison spores. They might still be having an affect on you."

"Perhaps," she muttered, fear dissolving from her face, replaced by a sensual, almost lustful look.

Her grip on his arm increased as if she was testing for blood pressure and a deep scarlet overwhelmed her eyes.

Harry tried to break free of her trance but found himself lost in the sea of euphoria that descended over him.

As she sat up, the voice of reason appeared in his head, telling him that something was wrong. But her eyes were so warm and beautiful, and he couldn't bear to push away the hand that had begun to lovingly stroke his face.

Eventually, his voice found itself, albeit shakily and lacking conviction, "I should go and see what's happening downstairs."

"You should," she replied huskily but didn't relinquish her hold on his arm. Nor did he struggle.

"I should be a part of whatever they're planning."

"Yes."

"Well, I'll go then."

"Goodbye, Harry."

Still she held him tight, but instead of fixing him in her deathly stare, she leaned towards him and gently kissed his lips, lingering for what felt like an eternity. Only then did she let go.

It was everything that Harry Potter had wanted for months, ever since he had met her for the first time, but it somehow broke the trance she had trapped him in.

A spark of electricity fired between them and his body became as cold as death. His senses returned to him in a rush of confusion and he was finally able to comprehend that something had infected the Auror and taken her over.

It was more than just her Vampirism taking hold, because even when drowned in her cravings and bloodlust, she was still fundamentally good. This was almost like possession, and he could feel her body pulsating with gnawing hunger.

Harry's warning alarms began echoing in his head. If he didn't stop their tryst, he knew he would become Alexa's next meal.

Without wanting to offend so deadly a creature, he kissed her back one last time and pulled away with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "I really should go now," he said and scurried away from her side.

"Come back soon," Alexa said, her voice even deeper than normal as she lay back on the pillows, blowing a seductive kiss at him as he disappeared through the door.

Those eyes had captured him again and he could feel the beginnings of a spell starting to work their way into his mind, but this time he could resist it.

Once safe on the landing, he heaved a relieved sigh and wiped his brow. His heart was racing in his chest and he was trembling so much that he could barely stand up straight.

Possession or not, Alexa had kissed him. The most powerful Auror in the country had leaned over and kissed him. The only thought that played on repeat in his mind was what had just happened, but past his teenage excitement was a sick feeling in his stomach. _Why_ had she kissed him?

"Are you alright, Harry?" Ron's voice emanated from the open doorway of his room down the hall.

Harry looked at him, a stupid giggle escaping him as he ran his hand through his hair, "fine," he blurted out, too over-zealous for Ron Weasley to take him seriously.

"What's the daft grin for?" he asked, "you look a right pillock."

"Where's Hermione?"

"Downstairs, why?"

Harry shuffled into Ron's room and collapsed on the bed with another self-pleased giggle, "Alexa just kissed me."

"_What_?" his friend barked in astonishment, eyes like two shocked orbs in his pale face, "kissed you?"

Harry nodded, unable to wipe the smirk off his face, "yep."

"When?"

"Just now. In the room down the hall."

"You jammy twat!" Ron shrieked and threw himself down next to Harry, "I can't believe you'd do that to me!"

"Do what?"

"Make a move on the woman I've been mad about since forever!"

Harry laughed, "we only met her a couple of years ago, Ron, and you would never make a move. Besides, it was her doing all the moving."

"But what happened?" Ron asked, "why did she kiss you?"

Harry thought for a moment quite seriously but found that he had no idea, "she took a funny turn outside so I carried her upstairs and put her in the room down the hall. She was saying how she got these evil feelings when the portal opened and she was really scared. But then she went funny and her eyes turned red. She looked really..."

"Sexy?" Ron interjected, his imagination filling in the gaps.

"Yeah. _Really!_"

Harry hated to admit quite how sexy, but whoever had kissed him was not Alexa, the woman he loved. That creature was something feral, manipulative and seductive - all of which did not embody the Alexa he knew. Alexa Flock would never make a move on him.

Those eyes had captured him and he'd lost all control of himself. He'd been happy - blissfully so. He was sure that if she'd chosen to snack on his plasma, he would have been content to let her.

Those eyes had clouded his mind and had erased all the darkness and terror of the past few months - years even. He'd felt truly happy for the first time in his life, but it wasn't real and her kiss had woken him up to reality. Somehow, it had broken his trance and now all that was left was the fresh liberation of fulfilled dreams and new experience.

"So, was it a 'thank you' or what?" Ron asked, voice dripping with envy.

"Harry shrugged, "I have absolutely no idea. But I'm not really complaining. It was good."

"She could thank me like that any day of the week!"

For all the bravado, Harry was concerned about her motivation. Something sinister was happening to her, like there were two sides of her fighting for dominance.

He knew that she was a dual entity because she was part Siren, part Vampire, but now she was more capable of evil than good. She was trying to fight it, but even one with her immense power would find it impossible. Alexa was losing her battle with herself and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"So, are we gloating anymore?" Ron asked when Harry's thoughtful silence became an unfathomable one.

Harry shook his head, "it means that bad is on the way. Maybe it's even here, and we need to do something."

With that, he and Ron hurried from the room and stood in the kitchen doorway, trying to attract someone's attention.


	6. Chapter 6

Alexa watched them from the landing, trembling hand raised to her mouth where she licked the knife cut clean. She knew that she needed help and had no idea why she had kissed her young friend, but it had scared her. She had wanted to kill him slowly and painfully, make him beg for mercy as she plagued his body with agony. Tenderising the meat, was what she had fleetingly thought. Now she felt her gut fill with gnawing guilt that made her question her own abilities.

But if she could just get a mouthful of blood, it would clear the wool from her brain and open her eyes to what she was becoming.

Her senses were slowly returning, but she still felt as though she was floating away in a body that didn't feel connected to her. She patted her stomach and chest many times to ascertain whether she was in reality or dreamworld.

Alexa turned and shakily crossed the threshold into the room Harry had allocated. She turned her back on the bed because all she could visualise was Harry's lifeless corpse, eyes frozen in death, with bite marks in his neck and bruises all over his bare chest.

Dizziness clouded her vision as she felt the evil thoughts in her mind grow louder, drowning out her conscience - even her soul.

Something was hollowing her out, eating everything that she was from the inside out, turning her into an empty shell to be filled with all the raw, devilish intents that everyone believed embodied the essence of the Vampire.

A tunnel appeared in her hearing, channelling a hollow knock through the incessant noise that preceded the hunger.

She stumbled to the door and composed herself enough to open it. Her eyes fell on the young, innocent, perfect Ginny Weasley, her red hair scraped back into a ponytail, the longer parts of her fringe clipped back from her eyes.

She smiled sweet and gave a girlish wave, "hi Alexa, I heard you weren't feeling well and thought I'd check on you," she said, confident in her safety. After all, she was in the presence of the most powerful Auror in the country. Ginny had no reason to doubt that she was in danger.

Alexa fought to maintain a normal composure but she felt an invisible force descend on her, dragging everything that she was out of her control, "actually," she began and gave a violent shudder as she battled against the disease that was soon to become all that was left of her, "Ginny..."

She wanted to tell the youngest Weasley to go, to run, to hide before it was too late, but before she could find the words to warn her, Alexa's inhibitions were wrenched away, leaving behind the purest embodiment of her evil.

"Are you alright?" Ginny prompted, unnerved by the sick, deathly pallor that tinted the Vampire's skin.

Alexa nodded, opening her crimson eyes and fixing them on Ginny, "come in, my darling child. Come in."

She fixed the young Gryffindor in an unbreakable gaze that exploited humanly trust, and took her hand, leading her into the room and closing the door, "stand right here so I can look at you."

Ginny did as she was told, Alexa's hypnotic eyes masking any instinct that told her she was in danger.

All Alexa could think of was the insatiable pangs in her stomach that yearned for satiety. The sound of Ginny's healthy, calm heartbeat taunted her. It was like a dinner bell, and the smell of fresh blood, warm and sticky, smelled of treacle and honey. The very nectar of life, and she wanted it all.

"Such beautiful skin," she cooed, stroking the girl's face and neck before closing her fist around the throat, just tight enough to control its movement.

Alexa didn't want to eat damaged goods. Girls tasted better unspoiled. Oxygen deprivation made the blood taste like bitter lemon, and a break of the neck gave it a woody flavour. Ginny was flawless, pure and willing. Perfect prey.

Alexa squeezed a little tighter to allow fear to spread through Ginny's body as the hypnosis began to wear off. The girl remained motionless, realising her vulnerable position, but now the euphoria of her hypnotic state had been punctured, she was aware that she was about to die.

A small whimper escaped her mouth, but instead of acting as a deterrent, it made Alexa more convinced. The fear hormones poured out of Ginny's flesh, tantalising her nostrils, which flared as she leaned into the crook of her neck and took great draughts of their sweet stench.

She could feel the pulse increase beneath her fingers, pressed into the sides of her throat, and located the vein.

"Scream for me," Alexa whispered threateningly but Ginny didn't dare. She could barely breathe and the Vampire's palm rested heavily on her larynx, and help was too far away to hear a whisper.

Alexa bared her teeth then, the two great fangs that gleamed, damp from saliva, and bent her mouth to the young neck. Her teeth traced the spot that was her target.

"Alexa, please," Ginny whispered, "please don't."

The words were barely audible but they pierced the madness like a wooden stake to the heart. As quickly as it had come, the overwhelming force faded into nothing and Alexa managed to retract her bloodlust. She released her grip on Ginny's throat and stepped away, tears springing to her eyes as she realised what had almost happened.

First Harry, and now Ginny.

"God, Ginny, I am _so_ sorry," she muttered, horrified that she was moments away from murder, "I don't know what's happening to me."

The young Weasley moved towards the door, dabbing a hand to her neck to check for wounds. She was dumbfounded and terrified.

"Something's wrong," Alexa continued, more to herself than to her almost-victim, "this isn't me. I don't do these things. Please Ginny, don't tell anyone about this? I need to find out what's happening to me."

"You were going to kill me," Ginny whispered, pale from terror as she regarded the creature before her.

"I'm sorry," Alexa said, "I would never do anything like this. I don't understand it. Please don't say anything to anyone?"

They remained in uneasy silence for a few moments before Ginny agreed and hurried from the room, locking herself in her own to prevent a repeat offence.

Alexa, however, locked her door and dissolved into tears of despair.

By the end of the night, it had been arranged that Alexa would visit Fudge with Serenna and Vokul, she would remove the Map from the Ministry and would regroup at Grimmauld Place, where they would decide on the next move. The Difforg clan would then be brought in and kept at a safe location.

So Alexa, now free of her more evil influences now that the sun was up, had left with her fellows and arrived at the Ministry's visitors entrance after nine o' clock.

Cornelius would be gearing himself up for a peaceful day, but she was intent on smashing that hope.

The great tunnel beneath the roaring streets of London was filled with witches and wizards from all departments, chatting amongst themselves about the day's business, the din pierced at regular intervals by a young boy from the newspaper stand, crying out the morning headlines.

Alexa and her brethren marched through the crowd, the heels of Alexa's boots echoing down the emerald tunnel.

"Oh my goodness!" one young witch exclaimed when she noticed who was invading the sanctity of the Ministry of Magic. She attracted more people's attention and a hollow began to open in the crowd as everyone backed away in fear.

Serenna's eyes darted every which way as her son played with the trigger of his crossbow, yearning for someone to put up a fight so that he could demonstrate his skills. They could both sense that they had been recognised by the various officials that were moving as far away from them as possible and were revelling in the attention they were drawing.

Alexa's face remained cheerful as she basked in the fear that their presence attracted. It was about time people started treating her with more respect.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the jumped up little snot of an interning wizard from the Inter-departmental Relations office skulking away through the crowd.

She vividly remembered all the times he had delayed her memos and budget reports out of spite because he was jealous of her power and influence. Now she was elated to see him treating her with more reverence than on past encounters.

"Pity it takes being a wanted fugitive with a price on your head to get a little respect and attention around here," she muttered under her breath, a comment that everyone could plainly hear given the nervous hush that had descended on the gathering.

As they entered the main lobby, voices wracked with terror muttered her name. The great gold fountain gleamed as the cascading water shimmered across its surface. It was like a second sun, shining like a beacon and a manifestation of the power that the Ministry had, and often misused.

It was only when the three sinister figures approached the metal cage lifts that they ran into trouble. The guards in grey uniforms, pocket watch chains dangling from their breast pockets, saw them approach and conjured wooden stakes in the palms of their hands.

"Now boys, we just need to see Fudge," Alexa said, stopping a far enough distance away to prevent feeling the brunt of their weapons.

"Fudge issued a stake-on-sight order, Miss Flock," one of them addressed her, a scrawny being with barely enough meat on his bones to make him a threat.

"I am more than aware of that," she replied, smiling politely, "you must thank Lucius Malfoy for that. Why do you think I brought company?"

She gestured to the two other-worlders who stepped forward, teeth bared and sadistic smiles on their faces as they smelled a fight brewing. Vokul pointed his crossbow at the scrawny guard and took aim.

"Serenna!" the other guard exclaimed in horror as he recognised her from his list of 'wanted' photographs.

"I don't think you've ever met her son, Vokul, sired in the dimensional drift?" Alexa introduced him, the more immediate threat to their lives coming from his loaded crossbow, "we just want to see Fudge and then we'll be out of here."

"We can't let you do that, Miss Flock," the scrawny guard stuttered and took a battle stance, stake raised.

His solidarity was purely for show, and Alexa could hear the terrified thumping of his heart in her ears, almost a hum. She allowed a grin to spread across her face. The guards posed absolutely no threat whatsoever, because they didn't have the courage to strike a blow against three powerful Vampires.

Her temporary smile melted into a serious expression and she tutted in disappointment, "then that is a shame. We'll just have to come back later."

The guards were momentarily relieved that the Vampires would be leaving and relaxed their hold on the wooden spears. Then, with a jerk of her arms, Alexa caught their clothes in the grip of a telekinetic burst of energy and tossed them like rag dolls away behind her over the heads of the crowd, coming to rest with a bone-shattering thud thirty feet down the tunnel.

The path now clear, Alexa led Serenna and Vokul into the lift and pressed the button for Fudge's office just as a magical alarm began to sound, alerting evacuation.

"He's going to get away," Vokul growled in his feral voice.

Alexa grinned, "no he's not. In the event of an evacuation he has to lock down all the most secret areas with multiple unbreakable security overrides and that always delays him. The fastest time he has ever got out is five minutes after the staff. We'll be in time."

The carriage ground to a halt, the cheerful voice unaware of the impending danger, "_Department of Divisions_."

The Vampires stepped out on a thickly carpeted corridor and walked down the narrow, white hallway, passing numerous doors on both sides that belonged to other heads of departments and their secretaries.

But Alexa knew the door they wanted very well. It was ornate looking, of thick, dark mahogany and sat pride of place at the foot of the hall, a worthy prize in the midst of lesser trophies.

She remembered the many times over the years that she had trudged wearily up and down this exact corridor as Fudge sent her on wild goose chases, and most recently deployed her to Hogwarts as a spy. That had been the decision that had sealed the man's fate. He, like so many others, should have revered her a little more, and now he would pay the price.

With very little effort, Alexa's mental _Bombarda Maxima_ blew the door off its hinges in a shower of stinging splinters, revealing the tiny, insignificant Cornelius Fudge sat on his throne of power and influence.

His expression was startled, as if he thought Deatheaters had stormed the Ministry, come to finish him off at last. But nothing could have prepared him for the three-man army that crossed his threshold.

"Alexa?" he asked in a choked voice.

She smiled sweetly at him, "missed me, my love?"

"How did you get in here?" Cornelius spluttered, "we all thought you were dead?"

Her smile never faded, "yet you doomed my survival with an insulting stake-on-sight order. A Vampire takes such an unneighbourly gesture as quite an affront."

"Had you been more honest with me, I might have reacted differently," Fudge barked, his eyes darting about in search of an exit, but the Vampires had his only escape blocked.

"Don't kid yourself, sweetheart," she replied, learning forwards and placing her hands on the desk, "you'd have never put me in powerful situations if you'd known. That's why you disbanded the League when you found out. But all this time, you've been playing right into Voldemort's hands. The Auror League was the only thing that could throw a spanner in his operations. He knew that if you learned the founding Auror of that League wasn't quite all that she seemed, you'd shut it down and leave the Ministry wide open for infiltration."

Fudge's eyes narrowed, "I should have known there was something about you when you convinced me to slacken the migration restrictions. I was a fool."

"No argument," she replied with a lopsided smirk, "but you only saw what those blinkered eyes wanted you to see. It wasn't in your interests to see me as anything but a pawn, but now you know differently. I am easily the most powerful being affiliated with this Ministry, and you've pissed me off."

With that, she hammered a balled fist down on the desk top, splitting it into two halves that collapsed in on themselves, scattering the papers and files.

Fudge backed his chair to the wall and cowered as his floor was littered with papers and personal affects.

"Alexa, there's no need for this," he whined, "don't destroy everything you've achieved with one moment of madness."

Her smile turned into a malevolent frown, "_you_ are the one that destroyed my achievements!" she shrieked in fury, "I did everything that you wanted - kept the country safe so that you could sit in here, high from your little power trip. So how do you repay me? By sullying my name in the papers! You even dare convince yourself that my League is evil! Then you sit there and feed me the good advice about not destroying everything I've achieved? I have _nothing_ because of you."

"The people needed to know what was happening," he whimpered, his eyes wide and watery as his pitiful life flashed before them. For all he knew, his life was at an end.

"And when have you _ever_ told them the truth?" she barked fiercely, "telling them about the Chimeras would have been a start. Not denying Voldemort's return would have been even better. Instead, you ruin the reputation of the Ministry by feeding the community _lies_. They aren't as stupid as you care to believe, although they still believe that Vampires are evil through and through."

"Kill me and you'll prove me right."

Alexa heaved an exasperated sigh, "now, why would I want to kill you?" she asked, "I want to see you suffer at the feet of your mistakes. I want the people to be able to judge you and do so harshly when they realise just what a mess you've made of their lives. But that isn't going to happen today. Today, I'm not looking for trouble, or a stake in the heart. All I want is the Field Map. Not too crazy a request, wouldn't you say?"

"You aren't getting anything from me," he hissed, trying to regain power over the situation but lacking the courage to sound convincing.

"Then I will have to hand you over to my friends," Alexa muttered menacingly, lips parting into another sadistic grin that mirrored Serenna's, who was looking forward to shedding some blood, "I'm sure you are acquainted with Serenna's reputation?"

Fudge's face drained of colour as the raven-haired beauty stepped up to Alexa's side, cracking her knuckles and flexing the fingers that were tipped with razor-sharp nails.

"Alexa, no," the pathetic little man began to beg, his voice coming in a pitiful whine. He was an egotistical, blustering old fool, but was reduced to nothing when faced with more powerful beings than he.

"Then give me what I need and I'll call her off."

"Why? So that you can bring more of your kind into this country and wipe out all human life?" he spluttered.

"Now why would we want to obliterate our food chain?" Vokul snapped, his crossbow trained on the Minister's chest, "or are you stupid as well as feeble?"

"Your security on the Map has become lacking, my dear," Alexa cooed sarcastically, reaching over and straightening his tie and jacket, "Deatheaters have been hovering like flies, just waiting for us to bring a convoy in. How do you think they're managing that? I want the Map. I may even be able to use it to find out where the Chimeras will rise and clear up another of your messes."

"They aren't coming," Fudge whispered, "it's impossible."

"Isn't that what you said when Voldemort returned? You didn't want to believe that either, but we know what is happening and the only hope we have lies with rallying our forces. But you won't save yourself or your people. You are _weak_!"

"The Map is safe. No one has accessed it."

"And how do you figure on that?" Alexa snapped, "your own employees keep secrets from you and you are blissfully ignorant about those who are Deatheaters in disguise. Every scrap of information that has led to a foolish decision on your part has come from the festering mouth of Lucius Malfoy. I remember never leading you wrong when I was in office."

Fudge spent a moment in thought, pondering over every decision Alexa had offered assistance with.

He had come to rely on her expertise and knowledge so much that it had weakened his authority in the community. She had simply become too much of a threat.

"I trust Malfoy's opinion," he grunted, donning his usual condescending expression.

With an open fist, Alexa issued the Minister with a resounding slap across his left cheek, her eyes blazing red, "your latest in a collection of mistakes," she barked vehemently, spitting every word as if they contained poison, "he is one of Voldemort's inner circle and has manipulated and moulded you into a pawn, a ridiculous excuse for a leader. And yet you sought to discredit me under the guise of the Daily Prophet? Now, there's gratitude."

"Your affiliation with the Vampire clans was destabilising the public face of the Ministry!" he exclaimed, his cheek flaming red.

"And you couldn't have that?" Alexa retorted abruptly, "Cornelius, if the public was aware of half the things that go on in this sham of an institution, there would have been a revolution decades ago! I established the League as a way of showing the people that the Ministry was doing something positive for a change instead of sitting back in its plush office, counting its galleons. I achieved something, and even though I've been exiled from my position I'm still trying to do good. The Chimeras _are_ returning and I cannot lose anymore warriors before the final battle has been waged. Now give...me...the Map!"

"Impossible," he mumbled, casting a frightened glance at the unpredictable Serenna and her son.

Alexa growled ferociously and grabbed his collar, dragging him closer to her face and holding him suspended in the air, "then I will have to take it by force."

She fixed him in her hypnotic stare and bared her glistening fangs, paralysing him with terror. When she began to bend her mouth towards his neck, he crumbled into a crying, whimpering mess,

"Alright!" he shrieked and help up his hands in surrender, "just don't kill me!"

Opening her clenched fists, she dropped him to the ground, and as Alexa's Vampire face melted away, Fudge's magic conjured a small box in the palm of his hand. Closing his eyes, he unlocked each of the mystical barriers that kept the lead case sealed, small clicks and bangs evidence to his efforts.

When his task was complete, he opened the box and removed a triangle crystal that captured the minimal light and broke it into broad spectrums of colour. He handed it to her with an open palm.

"Take care of it," he mumbled and scurried from the room before she could change her mind about sparing his miserable life.

"Let him go," she barked when a strangled yelp signalled his apprehension, "we have what we came for."

Alexa held the smooth crystal loosely in her grip, feeling the cool surfaces and running her fingers along the edges. She tapped into its power in search of who had last accessed it, but the Field Map did not show her a face, except Fudge's.

In earnest, she continued to probe the object with her power, desperately searching for the answers that she needed, but the crystal couldn't give her what she wanted - only Fudge had accessed it.

"What did you see?" Serenna asked, peering over her shoulder at the glittering gem.

A lump appeared, clogging Alexa's throat. She tried to swallow past it but it wouldn't move, "nothing," she gasped in shock, "Serenna, Deatheater's haven't been using this Map to find us."

"What does that mean?" Vokul demanded as noises appeared on the corridor and feet began rushing urgently towards the invaded office.

"It means that Voldemort found us by other means."

Suddenly a group of eight, grey clad guards appeared in the splintered doorway, wielding stakes and no doubt sent by Fudge as he fled.

"Time to go, High One," Serenna said and Alexa obliged, holding them by the shoulder and disapparating just as one trigger-happy guard thrust a stake towards them just in time to pierce empty space.

They exited the tunnel of apparation in a deserted alley a mile away from the Ministry, sheltered from the burning sunlight by the two high London buildings on either side.

They were safe from the Ministry operatives, the only risk of being discovered coming from their fellow evacuees, hurrying like ants away from their compromised nest.

"Heinous, insignificant things," Serenna snarled, prowling the front of the alley that opened onto the London streets with the shrieking vehicles and jabbering people, "this world is not the same as before. We would never have to hide away from life in that place."

"Civilisation," Vokul hissed as if the word left a vile taste in his mouth, "a pestilence to all who exist. It has driven us out of the world and all but obliterated our culture."

Alexa rolled her eyes, "play nice, children," she said, examining the stone.

To the naked eye, it was simply a valuable gem shaped into a pyramid. Even an inexperienced wizard would pass it over in a shop window, but Alexa Flock knew its true worth.

When harnessed with the ghostly mysticism of the lunar cycle that dictated its power, it showed the bearer the ever-changing location of the focal points at that point in time. The sun reduced its knowledge to simplicity, only allowing her to see who had last accessed its power.

"I find it hard to understand why we risked our hearts and necks for jewellery," Vokul snapped, "how can this rock tell us where the danger is?"

"Vokul, you know nothing of the ancient mystics. Ancient power trapped and cursed your sire, but you are still ignorant," Alexa scolded, "after the Bloodbath, the Ministry of the Old Times erected a field around the country, preventing Vampires recognising the humans' weakness and avoiding possible invasion. They had fallen into disarray after the death of Dedalus Fudge and forged this stone from the cores of the Tellan Wands, the most powerful wands in existence which belonged to Hettina Haggis. Because the barrier takes such magic to maintain, the focal points become unstable. This Field Map can hack into the magic and show us where the instabilities are. I only knew where eight of the locations were from my previous analysis of this, but now they have changed beyond my knowledge. We will need this to plan for the Difforg clan's arrival," she grinned at her fellow in triumph, "you see, Vokul, not everything is here as it is in the dimensional drift."

"So how can you tell that it hasn't been your Overseer who has been conspiring against us?" he continued to argue ferociously, "he is disdainful regarding our existence and showed you no respect as our High Priestess. It could have been him helping the evil one."

Alexa shook her head, "Fudge last accessed the Map months before the Chimera threat was even recognised. There is never any reason for him to study it because, as far as he is aware, the Field is working perfectly and that is all he needs to know. Our threat is something much bigger than Fudge."

Serenna walked over to them with an agitated air, "we are not as safe here as we are in the dimensional drift," she said, turning her attention to her son, "I fear that we are being watched. I feel evil intentions lurking everywhere, and they are directed at us."

Alexa stowed the Map in her cloak and took up a defensive stance next to her sister-Vampire as Vokul ventured to the alley opening and looked around the deserted street, avoiding the uniformed line of sunlight that threatened his and his sire's eternal lives.

"The humans have gone. They are not so stupid to assume safety here. We need to move," he said in low, hunting tones, crossbow ready by his side.

"Who is stalking us?" Serenna asked, silently moving towards her son to see the danger for herself.

"Eyes like needles, seeing through everything. He sees us now. I can feel his breath - and his heart. I don't know where he is hiding, but he is close."

"He?" Alexa asked, her brow furrowed with concern but not daring to venture forward to join her guards.

"The one in league with the green snake, whose nose is sharp and who searches without rest," Vokul replied.

"Stop with the other-dimension riddles," Alexa growled in exasperation, "what is going on?"

Serenna smirked, "you mean you don't hear him?"

Her pride damaged by Serenna's cruel remark, Alexa used her heightened senses and tuned into the silence, leaving her body behind as she allowed her native senses to experience everything, from the crackling lightbulb of a newsagents' sign four streets away, to the baking bricks, steaming under the hot sun - an unusual occurrence so close to Christmas.

Suddenly, a sharp slicing sound pierced the air and she re-entered her body in time to witness the thin wooden spear puncture the defenceless Vokul's chest.

Serenna screamed as the shocked face of her son dissolved into ash, his body and clothes burned as the invisible flames of Hell claimed him for eternity.

Alexa gasped as the stake that had ended his un-dead existence fell to the floor with a clatter.

Risking her own eternal life, she rushed forwards and grabbed the strap of the crossbow that no longer had an owner, pulling it into the shelter of the alley where it could be of use.

"Come on," she whispered and led Serenna to the end of the alley, stowing her behind a pile of discarded boxes, "stay here."

Alexa hid herself behind a stinking industrial bin of rotting vegetables and balanced the crossbow in perfect sight of the entrance.

The missile that had killed Vokul had come from the rooftop across the street, and it was obvious that there was more than just one person loitering in the alley.

"Who was it?" Alexa called over to her comrade in camouflage, keeping one eye trained on the target, "Deatheaters?"

Serenna shook her head as she peered through a gap in her barrier of boxes, "hunter. I've sensed his presence since we crossed into this world."

Alexa froze in horror as the enormity of their problem overwhelmed her, "a _Vampire hunter_?" she gasped, terrified for the first time in her life.

Vigilance was the only way to evade a Vampire hunter, and on some occasions even that wasn't enough. Once you were in a hunter's sights, only a stake would be your escape. But Alexa wasn't the kind to allow a Vampire hunter to claim her before her time.

Serenna nodded, "I have watched him through the veil for only a short time. I was drifting close to the dimensional border and overheard him scheming with another. Knowing who he was, I managed to punch through, causing a rift in reality, and risked disappearing, merging with time itself, to hunt him. I caught him and feasted on his neck. I thought he was dead."

Alexa growled, "and this isn't the first thing you tell me?" she shrieked in fury, "you _never_ leave a hunter unless you _know_ he's dead!"

"I was unaware that he'd come after individuals," she replied, "my main concern was my son and you. Now my son is dead."

"Maybe we could have saved him if you'd been honest with us all," Alexa barked with venom, "but how has he come to be so close?"

"He resides at Hogwarts."

"The attack on Harry and Ron," she gasped, "that was a Vampire hunter?"

Alexa mentally scolded herself severely. That was how the hunter had caught her scent. Vladmiran had protected both her and her guards during her stay in Madame Pomfrey's iron glove care, but not when she had ventured out to hunt.

In one moment of sentimentality, she had put herself and the Order of the Phoenix in the gravest danger.

The hunter would stop at nothing to eradicate her, and would kill anyone he deemed to be protecting her, hence the reason he had tried to kill Harry.

While fundamentally human, the hunter would consider any fellow human in civilised conversation with a known Vampire to be a traitor to his kind, lower than vermin and unworthy of life.

"Yes, that was a hunter," Serenna answered quite calmly given their precarious situation, "a man in a trusted position."

"A teacher?"

Again Serenna nodded, automatically revealing the hunter's identity. Alexa had investigated all the teachers outside of the Order fully and so the only other possible person was one who had led a sheltered life in Siberia, studying a revolutionary form of Defence, "Rader Vas," she muttered, "I should have made the connection when I learned that he'd studied at the School of Organic Sciences, the same school that was founded by Abraham Van Helsing."

"So, now you know me," a cracked, monotone echoed from the alley mouth, the figure's coat billowing out behind him and the sunlight beating down on his back and obscuring his face, "why don't you come and give me a kiss?"

Alexa felt Serenna tense as the hunter goaded them, but the millennia-old Vampire was at a disadvantage in daylight. But Alexa wasn't. She rose to her full height, firing rounds at the hunter from the crossbow, all of which glanced off the leather coat which he used to sweep the spears from their target.

"I should have been able to kill you in the Forest, the same as I should have killed the Potter traitor," he hissed vehemently as Alexa reloaded her weapon, "especially with you weak from the poison. I can smell it still working its magic on you. You will be easy to kill."

"Guess again," she barked and turned her attention to her magic, casting Stunning Spells and jinxes at Vas in rapid succession.

He dodged them all with an impressive display of acrobatics for a human, "if this is all you have, I wonder why the Dark one sees you as so much of a threat," he muttered, not even slightly out of breath from his demonstration of stamina, "but then you are all feeble in comparison to my strength."

"You're a little down on us considering you share our traits," Alexa replied, preparing a Reality Pulse behind her back, "human nature infused with Vampire strength and sense to create the ultimate hunter. One could say that you're one of us, making your race all the more repulsive."

Vas let out a strangled cry and flung two knife blades at her, one piercing her shoulder and the other glancing off her arm, leaving behind a flesh wound.

With a cry of pain, she sagged under the burden of the agony and wrenched the blade out, putting pressure on the wound with her left hand.

"A hunter wouldn't fall victim to such a predictable assault," he jeered, walking towards her with a self confident swagger, "we are superior."

"With one born every ten years, you're a little outnumbered, love," she replied, issuing a scathing crescent kick to the left temple, knocking him to the floor, "and if you were any kind of hunter, you wouldn't fall for something like that, you jackass."

Before he could get up, she used the knife blade from her shoulder and plunged it into his thigh, running into the bone. His cries of pain fuelled her Vampire strength and dampened her Siren serenity, "you boys are all bluster and no brains. Don't you know that you can't beat us? We are forever because we live forever. You are just another fragile light waiting to go out. Like flies, you reach your prime and die in so short a time that you may not have existed at all."

"Then killing you will have to do," he replied and vaulted into an upright position, flying at her with an array of kicks and blows that were timed and choreographed to perfection, and which were simple for her to read.

Left, right, right, left, kick once, kick twice, spin and kick, leap and kick, left, right, left.

It was like a dance routine, rehearsed a thousand or more times. It almost bored her as she blocked every attempt, and even landed a few blows herself to knock his arrogance.

"Come on, you're supposed to be the elite!" she goaded sarcastically, "get all elitist!"

Rader tried to get the better of her numerous times, but knew she was just playing with him. She'd let him land a blow so that he'd get confident, but then she would land four.

He could feel her strength growing with every passing moment. But the main danger was that she was a learning creature and the more he fought her, the worse his disadvantage.

As their mano-a-mano reached its peak, Alexa felt the Pulse hovering behind her back reach its full capacity, emitting a great whirring that signalled its readiness.

She interrupted Rader's momentary advantage with a powerful kick to the gut and gave an innocent shrug, "Well, I'd love to stay and play some more, but I've got places to go, Deatheaters to kill and Chimeras to stop, so don't take this personally."

With that, she produced the Pulse and blew it from her upturned palm with an adorable wink.

The amethyst ball of energy imploded on itself, creating a shockwave that radiated out and away from the alley, tossing him backwards away from the epicentre. But when the energy ripples engulfed him, he disappeared through the rift in reality.

"Impressive," Serenna muttered begrudgingly, "had it not been for the sun..."

"Yeah, yeah," Alexa interrupted mockingly, "you'd have peeled off his skin, removed his heart, set fire to his lungs and have stapled his skin back on in time to see him melt into oblivion, cooking the heart in the flames that consumed him."

She shrugged, "it's creative," she mumbled carelessly.

"You've also done it before,"Alexa retorted, "a good Vampire never repeats the same act twice, and a better one doesn't stand around waiting for the hunter to find his way back to reality. That spell won't last forever."

With that, she placed her hand on Serenna's shoulder and the pair disapparated again, leaving behind a final prayer for Vokul's liberated soul.


	7. Chapter 7

Their tidings plunged the Order into chaos when they returned and delivered their news. The implication of a Vampire hunter made their plans that much more difficult, but Dumbledore remained optimistic,

"This complicates matters, but does not change them," he said, "at least now we have set the Elders' minds to rest regarding our loyalty to them."

Alexa snorted, "it would have been better if he believed there was a traitor in our midst," she said, "he will not take kindly to a hunter being on our trail. The Order will still be to blame, and the only way to regain his good favour will be to bring the last clan through without incident."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Kingsley Shacklebolt barked with a fierce expression, "a Vampire hunter presents us with a serious problem."

Alexa grinned, "we split the Vampires up," she said, as if it was the most obvious explanation in the world, "the Difforg clan will land at the new focal point, while we prepare a diversion. The hunter would pick up the scent of the convoy long before they arrived so I will cast a cloaking spell to disguise them. Only the diversion party would remain visible to him, but they will be very well prepared. We may not eradicate him, but we will slow him down significantly."

"Did you see who the hunter was?" Dumbledore asked.

"Rader Vas."

Hermione gasped, "I knew there was something different about him!"

"So it _was_ him that attacked Ron and me in the Forest?" Harry asked.

She nodded, "that was how he caught my scent in the first place."

"But then who attacked him?"

Serenna stepped forward with a bloodthirsty grin, "that was my doing."

Harry paused, "well, at least everything makes sense now."

"But if it wasn't for you, my attack would have claimed his life," Serenna growled malevolently, "now my son is dead because..."

"Because you didn't tell us how grave the risk was!" Alexa interrupted with a ferocious snarl, "Harry did what he thought was right and protected a Hogwarts teacher. That teacher went on to try and kill him, but what he did was noble. You can't blame him for that. I saw that he attended Van Helsing's school and didn't make the connection, so it is as much my fault as yours."

"I was never asked what I know," Serenna muttered like a petulant child.

"You aren't in the dimensional drift now," Alexa barked, "our ways are different."

"Your ways are weak. You talk about plans and feelings and opinions. I act."

"And look where that got you," Alexa replied, "doomed to wander between dimensions, only allowed to return for a hundred days every thousand years. Now I'm giving you the chance to _be_ again. A fight's coming and I need to know that you won't hold _anything_ back."

Serenna's expression softened very slightly, "I am here to serve the High One."

"Good, because I need you to form part of the diversion."

The other-worlder let a sadistic smile spread across her gaunt face, "revenge for my son's death will be a pleasure."

"I'm counting on it," Alexa replied, mirroring her smirk, "it will take me some time to locate the new focal point and Difforg will only be a few hours away, so we will need efficiency. Serenna will take Nikol and Borsun to the false point and will draw out the Deatheaters. I want them dead. Will that be a problem to anyone?"

"A pleasure," Serenna replied as everyone else shook their heads. This was their final chance to chip away at Voldemort's defences and they had to make it work.

"How long will it take you to study the Map?" Dumbledore enquired.

"When night falls, maybe an hour," she replied, "I will despatch Vladmiran under a cloaking spell to deliver the news as soon as I know and then I will send out the diversion team."

"Three Vampires will attract suspicion from Voldemort," Dumbledore replied, "from previous attacks he will know that the clans are made up of more than just three."

"I will have to exert myself a little more, then," she replied, "I will prepare a spell for Serenna that will give out a false reading to Vas. He will be under the impression that a complete clan will be landing, but there will only be three," Alexa turned to Serenna, "will you be able to handle a contingent of Deatheaters?"

She nodded without hesitation, "not one piece of their bodies will be intact, "she answered with a definitive nod.

"Whatever it takes," Alexa replied, "now, my little assault on the Ministry has not gone unnoticed. Fudge will waste no time in realising who he can and cannot trust. We can't afford the Order of the Phoenix to be discovered now."

"Where are your Aurors?" Arthur Weasley enquired, "if we are to go into battle soon, we could do with a significant rise in numbers and power."

"They are hiding in their own countries, but they are constantly being appraised of our situation. When he disbanded the League, the rumour was floated that he wanted to interrogate them about my behaviour and plans. Even towards the end of my tenure he was becoming quite the despot. We all privately arranged Order Black, that instructed them all to go to ground if the League was compromised. Minimal contact was to be maintained, enough to know one another's location if we were ever needed for battle. They are safer in their own countries at the moment because Fudge cannot touch them. I will despatch them when I know plans are in motion for Difforg."

"How soon will they arrive once you summon them?" Dumbledore asked, "knowing of the Vampires' mobilisation will make the Ministry lock the country down, cutting us off from the rest of the world."

"These are the best Aurors in the world, my friend. Nothing will stop them."

"I must admit that I'll be happy when they get here," Ron thought out loud, scraping his feet across the floor in nervousness, "we need more muscle."

Alexa smiled, "Ron, these guys are tough in every way. They will be here only a matter of hours after the order is circulated. Help will be here soon."

"Why wait?" Serenna snapped in a frosty tone, "we are guaranteed success with Difforg, so why not call them in now?"

"Because the longer they are here, word will eventually spread to Voldemort," she replied, "he has his fingers spread throughout the Ministry departments and learning of a mass migration _into_ the country will make him suspicious. He will rally his defences so that he can complete his mission and my Aurors will be at risk. We require an element of surprise, because this is one battle that we can't lose."

An uneasy silence descended on the Order as they contemplated the worst case scenarios.

Harry looked around and saw all hope gradually disappear. They all knew what the price of failure was, and knew that the battle would probably result in the loss of their friends, but it was going to be the ultimate battle of light versus shadow, and Harry couldn't help feeling excited. The combination of Vampires and Aurors made their side a formidable one and he was proud to be a part of the coming onslaught.

"It's time to go to work," Alexa muttered in her closing statement, "Fudge needs solidarity from those he trusts. Serenna, I need you to find Vladmiran and tell him our plans and Albus, I need you to get everyone prepared for the call who are willing to help. Keep Fudge placated with friendship because it will get you inside."

"What about us?" Hermione's unusually confident voice echoed about the room, "we aren't just going to play it safe here waiting to see who comes back."

"We want to fight," Harry announced, attracting a strangled whimper from Ron, who was never fond of physical confrontations, "this is our war too."

Alexa heaved a heavy sigh, "Harry, I don't want you anywhere near this. I don't want any of you placed in a dangerous situation."

"We're living in dangerous situations," Harry replied, "we want to help make it right again."

She rubbed her brow, torn in two. She desperately wanted to keep the Potters' son safe, but she understood his lust for battle. He still wanted vengeance for his parents' murder, the same as she did, but could she live with herself if he was killed?

"This could be the fight to end them all," she said, trying to talk him out of his decision, "the Vampires have been waiting for this opportunity for centuries and my Aurors will not be in a position to protect you, or to save you."

Looking in his eyes, she could see that it wasn't working. If anything, he looked all the more determined. Hermione's face was still flecked with fear, but she was willing to put herself in harm's way for the cause and that was how true courage and bravery began. Even Ron, whose fear could not be disguised, had a little conviction and resolve in him.

"So?" Harry asked, shrugging carelessly. He knew that he had no one left to lose, and a kamikaze mission would relieve his pain. What Hermione and Ron decided was up to them. He wanted to fight.

Alexa smiled and held out her hand, "then welcome to the team," she said and shook each of their hands firmly, "Harry Potter, Hermione Grange, Ronald Weasley, it gives me great please to formally induct you into the Order of the Phoenix."

The unmistakable pride of the three friends was felt by the other agents of the Order, but they could not be happy for them. It was noble and selfless of the teenagers to forfeit their futures for the cause, but it was a heavy burden and an unfair expectation of them.

Molly Weasley's worst fears had been realised and she shed silent tears as they left to do their final duties. She had tried to protect her own children and Harry and Hermione from the horrors of evil times, but now they had fully fallen into their destinies.

As her husband embraced her and allowed her to cry when the kitchen door had closed behind them, she sent a silent prayer up to the heavens to whatever God that was listening. Molly prayed both for the sparing of their lives, and a quick death if that was what the fates had planned.

Fate also spoke loud and true to Alexa when she shut herself away in her room with the Map in her cloak pocket. Her own fears were impossible to ignore regarding their war. Her own role in the last battle was already decided, that much she knew, but she had no idea what role that was. It would depend on Voldemort opening the portal to Mahtor.

The moon blazed through her south-facing window like a second sun. She felt its reflected light bask on her skin, cleansing her thoughts so that she could be enlightened with truth.

It was as if the great orb and its mystery was speaking to her, whispering answers in her ear. There was one force in her control that could show her the way.

Wandering across the room, she reached under the dusty bed and pulled the scuffed leather shoulder bag out that she had brought back from Transylvania with her. Un-clipping the flap and throwing it back, she looked inside passed the numerous potions bottles and took out a wooden box, the lid covered in intricate, flowing carvings of Celtic appearances.

Opening it, she found three jagged edged crystals and a pile of sixteen brown cards, the designs spoiled by age veins cracking the faces.

She took them out and fanned them on the bed, running her hands over them so that her natural oils identified her to the ancient spirits. Returning them to the pile, she shuffled them and set them out on the bed, face down, in four rows of four cards.

Taking a deep breath, allowing the essence of the moon to enter her being, she placed a blood crystal at each side of the formation; the left crystal, at the side of the second row, and the right crystal, at the side of the fourth row.

Then she sat back and meditated on her question ,allowing the unconscious tendrils of her magic to gain life, focussed through the blood crystal she had placed over her heart that enticed the spirits forward.

Her eyes blind in serene contemplation, she did not see the moon's light shine on only three of the sixteen cards, as if focussed through a vessel into a single point of illuminating light.

Alexa opened her eyes and looked at the answer the night spirits had given her. Using a telekinetic spell, she accepted the first card; the top row, second card in. Turning it over, it was revealed as the Three-Headed Serpent.

"Impending doom," she muttered, the green snake coiled around a silver sword blade with blood stained along its edges, "not a very good opening card considering you represent the near future."

The next was the White Babe, the second row, fourth card, "a symbol of serenity and purity. How can a good outcome follow impending doom as a personal journey?"

She thought about the combination for only a moment before moving along to the final card, resting on the bottom row. The first position card, "the Stalker. How fitting," she muttered to herself, looking into the red eyes of the hooded and cloaked figure who carried a wooden stake in his left hand and a Christian cross in his right, "being watched from afar with ill intent. As a pivotal event, that is quite accurate."

Sitting back from the cards that hovered before her eyes, she took in their meaning and how it would impact on what was going to happen. She found her eyes lingering on the faceless baby of the middle card, wrapped head to toe in white swaddling cloth. Alexa found it offering her comfort, so enshrouded was she in the darkness of the flanking cards.

The overall pattern was the divining of tragedy, but the White Babe was positive, so out of all the blood that would be shed, ultimately there would be good left behind.

Heaving a contented sigh, pleased that she had been given a little insight into what the fates had planned, she stood up to stretch her fatigued limbs, but a low patter attracted her attention to the floor.

Lying face up on the blackened carpet was the Snarling Dragon from the bottom row, fourth position. The crystal blue eyes of the amethyst creature struck her. With a smirk, she picked it up and felt its interpretation vibrate through her soul.

"Restoration and timely revenge," she muttered to herself, knowing that sometimes it was the falling cards that held the most power, "thank you for the final outcome."

A serene smile still fixed on her face, she put the divination cards of the Vamot legacy back in the bag and turned her attention to the Map, more clear with her direction and how it would aid their battle. Now she knew what was to be done.

Within the space of an hour, the Auror had learned the location of the new focal points and transmitted the intelligence to Vladmiran and Dumbledore.

Serenna was entrusted with one of the blood crystals, bewitched by Alexa with the spell that would deceive the Deatheaters.

"If you encounter the hunter," Alexa said as Serenna examined the crimson crystal, "kill him."

The old Vampire warrior grinned, "I will present his eyeballs to you, High One, as a token," she said and bowed low to the ground, "I will show no mercy."

With that, she turned and left without any contradiction from Alexa, who knew that Serenna was most deadly when unrestricted.

With her dangerous ally gone to do her duty, Alexa knelt by the fire and contacted her Aurors, mobilising them all with immediate effect, "cloak yourselves against all detection," she instructed her South-East Asian comrades, "this is the big one guys, and we can't afford any slip-ups. The last clan is only an hour away so we're almost ready for the final reckoning."

"Looking forward to throwing down," the American Auror, Dionne Lopez, exclaimed excitedly, "I'll only be a few hours away so try not to get yourself into too much trouble."

Alexa smiled to herself as she thought ahead to the war. So far, she had managed to reach 65 of her Aurors and mobilised them. The Middle Eastern agents had too much local unrest to contend with to rally together for Britain's problems.

She was disappointed with some of her less influential comrades, who had publically expressed their disgust with her and how they would no longer follow her lead. She only hoped that Serenna was having more luck with the diversion.

In the foul, grime-filled living room, she made herself comfortable in a straight-backed chair, its cushions slightly perished and emitting plumes of dust whenever the urge to sit became unbearable.

Looking around, she tried to imagine the notorious Black family engaging in their evil conversations, with Sirius shrinking into the background.

Alexa always felt close to her departed love in this room. The kids were in their own rooms, mulling over their sudden induction, so the house was quiet and still and she could almost feel his presence.

"I hope I'm doing the right thing," she muttered in a low undertone, "I just wish you were here to give me a little more strength."

Suddenly the hairs on her neck stood on end as a cold, almost heavy sensation covered the top of her scalp and she froze, fully expecting someone to step out from behind her. But there was no one there. A prickling tingle replaced the weight, as if a hand had been removed.

Sirius had often placed his hand on the top of her head when they were exchanging a tender moment, and she was convinced that he had heard her.

She had so many people to look after that she was beginning to lose her direction. It was like she was lost in the great sea of impending war, drifting towards danger too soon.

For once, she wanted all responsibility to be taken off her shoulders so that she could be an ordinary girl.

Muggles led such simple lives, each of them convinced that their problems and vices were the centre of the universe, when there was really no comparison. They went about their mundane routines, ignorant of the fact that the world was literally on the brink of ending.

Alexa sometimes longed for that life, especially a simple one. One in which she could wake up in a morning, eat a breakfast of eggs and then head out to a boring office job that she loved to moan about to her friends over red wine at the pub.

Instead, she was likely one of the saviours of mankind, and the world would never know. She would disappear into the background, fading away like the stars in the night sky, but always keeping a watchful eye.

Daylight soon became night, the sun dimming as it sank below the horizon. Alexa watched it go, marvelling at the beautiful displays of magentas, rose madders, crimsons and raw siennas that spread across the caeruleum sky. She had never, in her deceptively long life, stopped to witness a sunset and wondered why she had squandered the opportunities.

Tonight's transition into darkness was wondrous, not a single cloud obscuring the view as the sun descended into its nighttime resting place, off to grant new life and a new day to the rest of the world.

She bid mighty Leo goodbye as he disappeared from sight and heaved a heavy sigh as she folded her arms protectively across her heart, enjoying the feeling of it thumping in her chest. Alexa Flock was unique, a different kind of Vampire altogether.


	8. Chapter 8

Meanwhile, Serenna, Nikol and Borsun gratefully watched the deadly sun vanish from sight, the wind bringing with it the sharp gusts of night. They crept out from their shelter in the trees and stood in the centre of the field.

"I can feel the raw energy of the Ministry here," Nikol muttered, circling the area with his palms out-stretched, "we are in the right place."

Serenna grinned, looking about her along the ground and up in the skies, "then we'd better start," she said, her eyes wide with excitement.

She reached into a pocket of her skins and removed the blood crystal that Alexa had enchanted, holding it upwards to face the moon in her open palm, "_Decepto Multipla_," she muttered, the glittering gem glowing from the magic at its inner core. Its power surged upwards in a controlled column to a point in the sky that was unseen, before it hurtled back to its source and dwindled, the crystal regaining its lifeless facade.

Looking around for some sign that the magic had worked, she began to feel a dull vibration in the air. Time was moving swiftly by and the Deatheaters would soon appear.

"Any change?" Serenna asked of the Elders, casting her eyes back to where the more magical Vampires were circling.

They both shook their heads, "no, if the Deatheaters are coming, they are doing so quietly."

Serenna's grin broadened, "oh they're coming," she muttered, her heightened visual acuity detecting small ripples in the atmosphere a few metres away. The ripples expanded and grew in intensity, running into fifteen other sets that had begun not far away, "get ready," she announced, pointing at each of the areas in open space that the Deatheaters would step out of.

Heeding her, the two youngest Elders walked over to her and stood a few steps behind, fully prepared for an assault.

Serenna lost herself in the sudden echoing beats of many pulses that filled her ears, making her salivate.

"Like fast food," she muttered, licking her full, crimson lips sensually and bracing herself. They had to launch their attack as soon as the Deatheaters apparated. They couldn't let any slither back to their master.

Black clouds gathered overhead, blocking out the moon's glare and the wind began to blow fiercely, crashing against the three Vampires with devastating ferocity. But the un-dead beings were stronger than nature and stood their ground as the blackened sky was pierced by a column of charcoal smoke that sliced through the air, landing a few feet from the Vampires.

A masked face emerged and the smoke enveloped his body, creating a set of deathly black robes.

"Good evening," Serenna growled with a cocky wink and leapt through the air, twisting her body into a somersault. Kicking out after the first revolution, her feet clipped the Deatheater under the chin with a sickening crack as the neck broke, flinging the corpse to its final resting place fifty feet away.

With a feral growl, she landed in a crouch on the hard, wind-chilled ground like some angelic beast. Her eyes gleamed with the flames of battle and it was like she was embracing a friend in those eyes. She was a warrior who thrived in violence, and as another Deatheater stepped from the ether, she embraced the thrills of war and turned her insatiable fury on him, landing a single punch that broke his skull.

Nikol and Borsun enjoyed their own little glimmer of glory while Serenna sliced through Voldemort's forces, spilling the foul, stinking blood of evil.

Using small spells, they showered their arsenal down on the harbingers of death, disorientating their foes so their comrade could deliver the final blow that obliterated their lives.

"Enjoying yourselves?" she roared in the aggressive, native tongue of their kind.

They replied with an ascent, but stumbled when they were blind-sided by four Deatheaters, who knocked the Elders to their knees and prepared their death spells.

Serenna roared at them, baring her glistening fangs as the mighty drums of thunder and lightning split the skies.

A great hiss of wind lifted her from her feet, delivering her to the invading Deatheaters with a crunch of bone and squelch of flesh. Gripping one by the neck, she bit down on the neck of the other, the remaining two lying stunned a few metres away.

Her teeth pierced the skin and drove into the vein, allowing thick, slick blood to pass down her throat, filling her stomach with the electrifying sensation of darkness - true darkness.

The Deatheater in her grasp struggled valiantly, trying to prise her off his neck, but as the life ebbed away, he felt his breath grow heavy before his final expiration gurgled in his mouth, his eyes fluttering closed as he succumbed to his eternal slumber.

The other, held tightly in her fist, had the breath squeezed out of him, his trachea collapsing under the strain and sealing his journey to the underworld.

Finally satisfied, Serenna released the neck with a hollow _snick_ and let the body fall, her belly full and energised.

Looking around, she saw Nikol's hunched back, crouched over a burly attacker who struggled helplessly against the Elder, while Borsun snatched the last Deatheater from his apparation mist and proceeded with his own bloody banquet.

She searched for more evidence of Deatheaters approaching but saw only corpses, most with their necks open and a few resting with their necks at odd angles, hideous protrusions beneath the skin evidence of the nature of their demise.

Then the clouds gathered, signalling a reprise, and a Deatheater appeared behind her, suddenly wrapping a thick, meaty arm around her throat while his other jabbed a blunt wand tip into her back.

"So, the Order thought they'd be clever and run a diversion," he snarled in her ear, "just to bring more Vampires over? This is futile! They're getting desperate, sending their own allies to their death."

Serenna's grin never wavered as she toyed with the eight-inch knife blade at her hip, waiting for the perfect moment to puncture his triumph aswell as his heart, "but you fell for it," she growled with a low laugh, "and all you have to do is look around and see what it cost you."

"There's plenty more where they came from," he muttered, "but you won't live to see our victory. _Avada Kedavra_!"

His wand exploded with green light, but it wasn't Serenna that found herself consumed with horror. He felt his Killing Curse reflect off the Vampire's lifeless skin and pierce his own, absorbing his life instantly.

He fell to the ground, wand still clutched in his fist and his last moment of shock immortalised on his face for all time.

Serenna turned to look at her captor with amusement, "how can you kill what's already dead?" she said and then checked the battle field one last time.

So many Deatheaters defeated and lying dead on the ground, decaying with each passing moment as their evil deeds consumed their corpses.

Serenna's senses picked up no more life, so she breathed in the scent of death one final time and turned to the Elders, "our work here is done boys! Let's go!"

Turning away from their massacre, they basked in the power of the full moon and transformed into bats, sweeping through the skies back to Grimmauld Place.

But their victory was short lived for a loud, echoing laugh filled the Vampires' ears.

Serenna, who was leading the charge, slowed and flapped her wings furiously to try and stay airborne, but the laugh sliced through her ears and spoiled her sonar. She found herself deaf to her environment so that when a poorly aimed dart was shot, embedding itself in her shoulder, her opposite wing failing to keep her in the air.

Before crashing into the ground, Serenna managed to resume her natural form and landed in a crouch at the feet of the hunter while the Elders hurried away to report to their Chieftan.

"You really should be careful where you fly," he laughed, tossing a stake around in his left hand. Leaning forwards, Rader yanked the dart out of her shoulder, her agonised cries adding to his amusement, "considering the pain you inflict on others, I would have thought you enjoyed it."

"No," Serenna muttered, her other hand clutching her wound.

"That was a nice trick you played back there," he said, crouching down and fixing her jet eyes in his own penetrating stare, the stake jabbed painfully beneath her chin, "I have to admit that your friend played it smart. But it only bought you a few moments of glory. Now, you will die."

Serenna gulped saliva and quickly glanced about for a weapon she could reach. Her right arm was useless until it had healed, and that was a few hours off.

Nikol and Borsun were nowhere to be found so she had to think fast. But thankfully she had spent centuries in the dimensional drift.

"Any last requests, unholy demon?" he snarled, straightening up and holding the stake ready for the final blow.

Then she saw it. Clipped to his trousers was a six inch serrated blade. If she moved fast enough, she would be able to reach it.

"Actually, now that you mention it," she mumbled, deliberately letting her words fade so that he had to lean forwards to catch them. She gulped saliva in feigned agony, making him lean in a little closer.

Sweeping out her extended leg, she knocked him off his feet, lashing out with her good hand and grabbing the knife as he toppled backwards.

With a pained exclamation, he hit the floor as Serenna stood, raining a hail of blows on him. But with a kick, he managed to subdue her long enough to vault to his feet, eyeing her malevolently as his stake rolled away into the long grass.

For a few moments they regarded one another, circling in preparation for an attack. Serenna held the blade ready to slash his skin, while Rader held his coat back so that he could grab his weapon of choice in a hurry.

"Why do you fight?" he asked in quite a serious tone, "is there any reason when you know that the Dark Lord will win?"

Serenna's eyes narrowed, "because it's the right thing to do."

"But you're a Vampire. Shouldn't you be on his side?"

"We aren't as evil as you think," she replied, "but you would never think to see that."

With that, she took aim and flung the blade at him, embedding it in his upper arm.

With a scream of pain, he wrenched the bloodstained knife from his flesh and threw it on the ground, reaching for clean instruments as he charged her, but she was faster, vaulting over his head and landing a powerful side kick to his back on landing.

"Sneaky," Rader hissed, pulling six different blade weapons from his belt and throwing them at her with painful precision.

But Serenna was smarter than he gave her credit for and used an impressive array of ducks and dives to dodge the shimmering blades.

"You don't know the half of it," she growled, catching the last weapon out of the air and turning it on its owner with a vicious flick of the wrist. He tried to deflect it with his cloak, but the attempt came too late as it collided with his shoulder with a sickening thump, "I haven't survived for a thousand years without learning a thing or two."

Choking for breath and sweating from the pain, Rader looked at her with his grey eyes, for once devoid of hate. Serenna wasn't breaking her stride while he could feel his energy fading.

He reached for another weapon but she halted his attempt, leaping through the air that separated them and knocking him to the ground.

"With all that hot air you blew back in the alley, I thought you were better than this," she growled, pinning him to the ground with his arms above his head away from any concealed weapons, "but you're just another fool who thinks he's better than us. You were more threatening when we didn't know what you were."

"Bringing you back was unexpected," he gasped, her powerful legs restricting his lungs and putting pressure on his wounds.

"I'll bet," she snapped.

"But I'm not out of tricks."

With a grinding of metal against metal, he triggered a hidden mechanism that released a silver stake from a concealed weapon around his wrist.

The noise startled her so that she lost her grip on his arm, which gave him the opportunity to jerk his fist upwards, embedding the stake in her chest.

Stunned, she wriggled away from him as he retracted the weapon, her hand clasped tightly to the entry-point which was leaking blood at an alarming rate. Spluttering past the collapsed lung, she coughed blood onto the floor and collapsed on her side, clinging on to her final few moments.

With a self-confident smirk, he stood up and straightened his cloak, watching Serenna writhe in agony, "you can't hang on forever with a broken heart," he hissed with a low laugh.

But Serenna began to laugh, low, malevolent and sadistic.

To his surprise, she took a great breath and got to her feet, the wound fading into nothing, "you missed," she said with a cock of her head before rushing forwards with a burst of speed, engaging him in hand-to-hand combat, at which she was far superior. Her millennia in the dimensional drift had taught her a great deal and had given her time to hone her strength.

He blocked her blows with difficulty and then eventually not at all, allowing her to overwhelm him with her raw, feral power.

By the time she began to tire, his face was shattered, bruised and covered in cuts that oozed with blood. He lay in a crumpled mess on the floor, waiting for her to deliver the final, merciful blow.

"This is for my son," she said and picked up one of the many discarded blades scattered across the field.

He watched through exhausted eyes as she toyed with the blade, kneeling down beside him with it in hand. Rader was too broken to struggle or try to escape. He had failed.

Grabbing a handful of hair and jerking his head back, Serenna exposed his pale neck and rested the blade in a horizontal line across his quivering Adam's apple.

"Now, where is he summoning the Chimeras, and when?" she asked, her mouth so close to his ear that he could feel her deathly breath on his skin.

He gulped saliva, gasping when she jerked his head to prompt an answer, "midnight," he managed to whisper passed a fractured jaw and a mouth full of blood.

"Where?" she growled, jabbing the knife a little deeper into the skin without breaking it.

"I...don't know," he replied, yelping when she gave his hair another yank.

"I said where?"

"I wasn't told," he answered, his voice becoming almost pleading, "it was never something I was required to know. But it will show up on a mystical map. Energy...too great for the atmosphere."

Serenna knew that the Map Alexa had obtained from the Ministry would have other uses than simply locating focal points.

"Has the Difforg clan been received successfully?" she demanded.

He managed to nod, "yes," he answered in little more than a whine, "I can smell them."

"Thank you," she said and carved a great gash across his jugular, spilling his blood across the ground as it escaped his arteries in great gushes.

His final breath came quickly, his eyes open and staring as his body folded in on itself as it settled on the ground.

This time Serenna waited, tuned in to the remaining beats of his heart until it slowed to a stop. The Vampire hunter was dead.

Tilting back her head, she gave a great roar of triumph, beating the air with her fists as lightning sliced through the skies. Vokul's death had been avenged.

Taking a last long look at Voldemort's once secret weapon lying drained and vanquished, she transformed into a bat and hurried through the turbulent winds back to Headquarters.


	9. Chapter 9

With their individual missions completed, the regroup at Grimmauld Place commenced at nine o' clock where they exchanged their success stories.

Vladmiran reported that the Vampires of the Difforg clan were being stowed safely with their own kind, who currently lay in wait for news of the summoning, "as soon as word reaches them, they can be at the site instantly. The British Vampires will take longer to arrive," he said.

"My Aurors will all be here by midnight," Alexa reported, her arms folded across her chest, "they will be able to sense any disturbance caused by the portal and will be there moments after reaching our airspace. I will not know precise numbers until they arrive, for now it could be three or thirty."

"That is well, considering the Chimeras will be summoned at midnight," Serenna interjected, "the hunter didn't know where."

"Is he dead?" Alexa asked, to which her sister-Vampire nodded, "good, that will return our element of surprise. I will study the Map some more. It should show the portal's location. Any dimensional disturbance will be impossible to hide. We'll be out to battle soon enough."

So, their waiting game began.

An uneasy silence descended on the Order of the Phoenix as everyone waited with baited breath for the call into action. The musty old clock in the hallway counted down every minute unbearably loudly, chiming out the hours before midnight.

Ten o' clock came and went, and still Alexa stared into the swirling depths of the Field Map, its caeruleum glow stinging her eyes as she sat in the darkness.

But the mystical Map told her nothing. The focal points shone clear and true, but this time she didn't want to know where they were. The atmosphere was irritatingly clear, almost peaceful.

With a growl of impatience, she swept the crystal off her desk, letting it thud onto the floor as it emitted an indignant wail of irritation. She buried her head in her hands and stared into the dark crevices of her fingers, searching her tired, muggy brain for something she could possibly have missed.

Her fingers clenched and unclenched and her skin began to dampen as a cold sweat descended over her. Her breath came in short, sharp gasps and her heart fluttered wildly in her chest.

She could feel the pangs of hunger beginning to gnaw at her again, more powerful than before and more difficult to ignore. Her eardrums echoed with the sound of many beating hearts, saliva swamping her mouth as she imagined the units of fresh, sweet plasma going to waste in their worthless, inferior bodies.

_Stop it!_ her inner voice screamed at her, _this isn't you!_

However hard she tried to block the taunting sounds of human life from her ears, the worse her cravings became. She wanted to snap their necks, twist their arrogant, self-important heads off their shoulders and suck out their blood until they were nothing but dried-up husks, a shadow of their former selves.

Her hands began to tremble and she grew faint as she battled with her inner self. Then a new scent engulfed her nostrils, one that was sweet and pure and untainted. It drove her to dizzying heights and also made her descend into torment. This blood was innocent and uncorrupted, someone who existed outside Alexa's natural food of choice. It belonged to a virgin - the epitome of innocence.

Alexa sniffed hungrily at the air, her eyes darting about the room as she searched for the source. The girl was close, no more than two miles away. The scent was too strong to be any further. Sixteen and perfectly aged.

The hunting instincts within quickly consumed her, transforming into the pangs of starvation. Doubled up in agony, Alexa waited as the invisible knives being stabbed into her gut retracted.

Her instincts were screaming in her ears, feeding her all the information she needed, but they were more powerful than anything she had ever experienced.

During a recreational hunt, Alexa could chose her target freely based on the grade of wickedness, but everything that she was taunted her, commanding her to go after this fresh, new blood and leaving her no room for contradiction.

She tried to battle from the brink of corruption, her weakening mental voice trying to convince her that she could fight these new cravings, but that voice was eventually lost in the deafening midst of her new and persuasive inclinations.

She felt the demonic hormones steadily consume her normal self, plunging her soul into darkness. Alexa felt as if she was falling and spinning into oblivion but could do nothing to stop herself. Eventually, the darkness corrupted her essence.

Very slowly, she raised to a standing position, her eyes glistening manically as the evil thoughts bathed her renewed and pain-free mind.

She did a twirl on the spot, revelling in how energised she felt. Her limbs were bubbling and twitching with anticipation, her magic more responsive than ever.

Whatever pain that was left behind from the poison spores was gone and she was as sadistically happy as she had ever been.

As Alexa marvelled at her sudden transition, she felt her belly give a great grumble that seemed to echo about the room. She patted it, as if it were a baby gestating, and gave a frown,

"Hungry," she muttered with a theatrical sigh, "and cooking is out of the question."

She moved over to the desk and tipped the contents of the drawers onto the floor, searching through the papers, "how could I possible have survived without the most basic torture equipment?" She heaved another sigh and gazed out of the window, looking casually down at her belly, "it looks like it's take-out for you. Now, where will we find a decent meal?"

A low knock appeared from the door, which creaked open to reveal Harry, a stupid, hollow grin on his face,

"Hey," he said cheerily in a voice that sliced through her nerves and turned her stomach on its head. The sentimentality was enough to make her vomit.

"I said a _decent_ meal," Alexa muttered with a roll of her eyes, "consumed with misery and grief. You wouldn't fill me for an hour."

Harry frowned, "what?" he asked, picking up on her dangerous mood.

Alexa took a step towards him with a too-confident swagger, "what?" she barked in a mocking tone, "can't you figure anything out for yourself, or do you need precious Dumbledore to tell you what to think of how to breathe?"

Harry opened his mouth in shock, grasping for words that never came. Her eyes were red instead of emerald and her whole manner had transformed.

The confidence was coming off her in waves, but it no longer consisted of the energy she used to project. She was so sure of herself and the words that spilled from her mouth were pure poison,

"What's happened to you?" he asked as she twirled a lock of hair in disinterest, "this isn't you. It's the Vampire within trying to take control again."

She let out a single laugh, "or could it be that this _is_ me, just a version that is sick of your lost-boy crap?" she snarled, "I mean, how many times can one person blame the death of his parents for every little tantrum and every inferiority complex when you're just simply inferior?"

Harry battled against the tears that sprung to his eyes as her cruel barbs cut into his hide, disturbed and hurt that she would say such awful things, especially after their little tender moment.

He tried to convince himself that it was as he'd said, and it was her Vampire side talking, but it was still Alexa, "how could you say that after we...?"

"That little lip-lock?" she scoffed, "grow up, Harry. You honestly think that I could be moved by a schoolboy? And a weeping, dripping one at that? No, I just gave you a taste of what you would never have."

"I can't believe you could be so cruel," he mumbled, his eyes cast down.

"Hello, _Vampire_!" she exclaimed, flinging her hands out in emphasis, "or is your IQ too low to understand a word longer than four letters?"

"Alexa..."

"Good, good boy!" she interrupted cruelly with an evil grin, "at least you've grasped the concept of proper nouns. Be careful your head doesn't explode."

"Stop it!" he shrieked in exasperation, unable to withstand her evil remarks. He covered his ears with his hands to try and block out her laughter, each peel a knife in his heart, "why are you being like this? You aren't the Alexa I know!"

"Maybe you just never knew me," she hissed wickedly, "if it bothers you so much go and whine to someone who will pretend not to ignore you. Silly little immature Harry Potter, attention-seeking again because he has no one left in the world to love him. You think you're something special because of that scar, don't you? The great Harry Potter always knows best. But all you are is a foolish, spoiled brat who has been given more attention than he's worth, and all because mummy and daddy are rotting in their graves."

Instead of dissolving into a fit of woe as he really wanted to, Harry managed to filter some strength from her cruel monologue, seeing the creature before him for what it was,

"Now I _know_ you aren't her," he said in a voice wrapped in iron, "my Alexa would never speak of my parents - her friends - that way."

She let out a blood-curdling laugh, "you presume to call me 'yours'? How small-town you are, it's almost funny. As I recall, you never had _me_ at all."

"Maybe not, but I was close to Alexa. I _know_ Alexa and you aren't her. You aren't even her Vampire side."

As he continued, he noticed the red in her eyes beginning to flicker and fade, letting more of the emerald shine through. She grew confused, looking around at the mess on the floor and then squarely at him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, brow furrowed as her shoulders began to sag, "what happened?"

"Alexa, I think you are possessed by something evil," Harry said, "we need to get you to Dumbledore. He may be able to help." He tried to take her arm but she pulled away from him.

She shook her head, "don't be ridiculous, I have work to do. But first I need something to eat."

As Alexa tried to move towards the window, Harry pulled her back but she was the more forceful, "no, no food yet. Talk to Dumbledore and then eat."

A part of her wanted to do what Harry said - a part that was telling her it was imperative - but the strong scent of an easy kill lingered in her nostrils.

She was half starved. How could she expect to fight the Chimeras and Voldemort's forces with such an empty stomach?

"This won't take long," she muttered in a distant, almost trance-like voice, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the window and the voices of night yearning for her to come out and dance with them, "I'll be back before they even know I'm gone."

"Alexa no!" Harry shouted, "something is taking you over. You said such horrible things. Something is gravely wrong. We have to do something!"

Never once looking away from the window, she pulled him towards her and then flung him away like a rag doll before disapparating in a shower of bright sparks.

Harry slammed into the wall and fell in a crumpled heap on the floor. He felt the back of his head with a trembling hand but never found the part that had smashed against the brick. A haze of darkness descended over his eyes and he fell into unconscious rest.

The confused, starving Vampire exited the tunnel of apparation in a once-busy London street in front of a dingy looking café.

It was pitch black apart from the glowing street lamps casting a warm, orange channel of light on the paths flanking the deserted road.

The maddening smell of meat was strongest here and Alexa's belly gave a great gurgle of affirmation. Her insides began to cramp painfully as if two invisible hands were crushing her systems together.

Her hunting instincts were dazed and spinning in circles, dizzying her mind to any form of sense.

As the door to the café opened, she heard a low click of a light switch and the shop window grew dark as the girl - a pearlescent, blonde creature - closed the door and locked it with a flick of her wrist. She was the prey tonight.

Alexa followed the glowing young girl from the shadows, keeping out of sight. But the girl was too consumed with an envelope in her hand. She rustled through the contents and the musty smell of the Mint hit the Vampire hard in the face.

Alexa smile to herself in amusement. The girl was too interested in money to sense that she was being stalked, and from her adrenaline levels it was clear that she was still far away from home.

Coupled with her insatiable hunger, the girl was then a perfect banquet for a Vampire whose direction was lost. Alexa was held in a trance by the innocent magic radiating from her prey, a trance that blinded her instincts to the wrongness of the hunt and gave life to her cravings, so that when the girl turned down a dark cul-de-sac, she had no inhibitions and was lost to the thrill of an impending kill.

She turned the corner shortly after and called out, stopping the girl just before she exited the dark path and emerged into a great pool of light, "excuse me!"

The girl turned very slowly, the sudden voice setting her nerves on edge. Her heartbeat increased rapidly when Alexa remained in the shadow and the Vampire's sharp ears detected the silvery tingle of adrenaline secretion into the blood that she desperately craved.

"Yes?" the girl called, "who are you?"

"I was just wondering if you could help me?" Alexa said and then launched herself through the air, colliding with the helpless creature and pushing her backwards into the wall, "that is, help satisfy my hunger."

Her human features morphed into her repulsive Vampire face, her eyes large and sparkling red in her skull and her teeth descending, glistening and sharp.

The pale creature in her grasp was too horrified to utter a sound, the money that had once seemed so important now discarded on the alley floor. The true value of her life was illuminated, but the shock silenced her.

Alexa dragged her prey into the waiting pools of darkness and held her fast to the cold wall, gripping her by the shoulders tightly with great folds of loose clothing clutched in her fists.

The girl's heart raced in her chest, delivering fresh plasma to the body that had only moments to live, the beautiful, fat vein in her neck pulsing as blood coursed through it.

A tiny, almost insignificant whimper reached Alexa's ears, but her instincts had dominated, blinding her and making her single-minded.

Very precisely, she lowered her mouth to the velvet flesh and touched her teeth to the region directly above the vein. She could feel the pulse vibrate through the enamel like a homing signal.

Knowing that she was on target, with a single, sticky exhale, Alexa bit down, her two fangs puncturing the flawless skin and piercing the throbbing vessel.

The girl gave a strangled sob as she felt her life being sucked away and squeezed her eyes shut, a single tear leaving a lonely track on her cheek as the Vampire fed.

Very slowly, she was lulled into her eternal rest, bathing in a sea of euphoria from oxygen deprivation. Her pain faded and then all she could feel was sinking.

Whole units of sweet nectar bathed Alexa's tongue as she drank desperately, not wanting to detach until every drop was filling her stomach with warm satisfaction.

She could feel her victim's heart slowing steadily before the mighty organ ceased to function. The golden wisps of the soul evaporated on the cool night breeze and the corpse became heavy in her grip.

Only when she was sure that there was nothing left to waste did she detach her disgusting teeth with a distant click. Letting go her hold on the barren shoulders, all that was left of the girl fell to rest on the cold pavement.

Invigorated, with energy coursing through her trembling hands, the Vampire stood back and surveyed the remnants of her banquet. The pretty face that was frozen in the Earth's memory forever and the healthy body, born from flesh to nourish the flesh. She was too perfect for a world that was so dark and unkind.

Just as she was revelling in the satisfaction of a nourished stomach, a sudden stab to her insides took her by surprise, and she clutched her chest as a burning fire radiated out from her stomach.

Terrified of the sudden agony, she looked around for an assailant but the alley was deserted. The pain grew in intensity until it had her on her knees next to her victim, eyes sunken in their sockets. She was forced then to see what she had done in the purity of her agony.

Alexa realised in a flash what her cravings had driven her to as, even in death, she saw the innocence that she had ingested and in that instant, all evil within disappeared, allowing her to realise her deepest mistake.

"No!" she gasped as another stab drove through her. Ingesting virginity was all-consuming.

"Yes, yes," a hissing snarl sliced through the air, "embrace your darkness. Welcome it. You cannot fight."

Alexa strained to look up from her writhing position on the pavement and watched as the ghostly white face of Lord Voldemort appeared out of a black mist that gathered around his body,

"You?" she gasped, trying desperately to hold on to the humanity that was slipping away.

Voldemort gave her a lipless smirk, baring pointed teeth and a charcoal black mouth, "I knew that you wouldn't be able to resist virgin blood when craving it. That was why I had to make you aware of it."

"That was you?" she said in a choked voice, "everything that I've done? Everything that I've wanted to do to my friends was because of you?"

He nodded and began to circle her damaged body like a vulture surveying a fresh carcass, "my attack on Transylvania served another purpose. The Vampire Library of Past proved most enlightening on the subject of the Highs - which you are one of. A drop of virgin blood will make them pliable, but I would never dare imagine what an entire virgin would do to one of ultimate Vampiric goodness. Also, imagine my surprise when I happened upon an ancient spell that can awaken the deadly cravings of a Vampire. Of course it had to be tested and Hogwarts seemed the best target."

"When Professor Sprout found me," she said, fighting for breath as her body began to convulse violently, "then it was you who made me want to attack Ginny and Harry?"

"What I underestimated was your will, so I targeted this Muggle. Your will failed you, Alexa."

"I will _never_ give in to you," she growled, coughing uncontrollably.

"You have no choice. You must give in or die trying. And dying is not an option for me. I need to ensure your continued life and this is the only way I can be sure."

"I would rather..." she gasped, but was suddenly stripped of her tongue as a great wave cascaded around her. It was oddly liberating, but it was all false.

Another convulsion tore through her, but instead of crying she laughed. How beautiful pain was, tickling the body with its green fire and slicing channels through muscles to allow the dark thrills of pleasure to escape.

The last thread that kept her mind in her possession snapped and she lingered languorously in the crashing tides of exhilarating agony.

Her laughs became stronger and the beautiful, black natures of evil consumed her.

"Pain. My old friend. How I've missed you."

She hugged herself around the belly, an expression of pure abandon lighting her face with darkness.

Her hair was tangled with sweat as she stood up and maintained an asymmetrical stance, leaning slightly back over her left hip and grinning malevolently through the strands that were splayed across her face.

Her clothes dissolved, smoking as if set alight by invisible flames. Her magic conjured a new outfit as the other faded; a tight black corset, shoulder high velvet gloves and skin-tight charcoal trousers that skimmed over six-inch heels.

Alexa sensually caressed the costume as Voldemort looked her over with an approving eye.

"How does that feel?" he growled fiercely, sweeping over to her with a flick of his thin robes.

"Much, much better. Pain is nature's cleanser and I am now awake and hungry for war."

"All in good time," he replied with a grin, "you will be able to punish your oppressors soon enough. What of the boy?"

Her smile faded, "the little insect lusting after the Goddess? He will learn the true nature of my power when he finds his life in my hands. His fate will be sealed with the kiss he so desperately desires."

"How fitting," Voldemort laughed, "to be killed by the one he loves."

Alexa shrugged and smirked, her eyes gleaming with ill-intent, "all poetry is written in the blood of the loved. He will never remember love once tonight is done."

Laughing in unison, the evil peels echoing down the alley, Voldemort and Alexa Flock turned and began their walk into oblivion, fading into the black mist that carried them away.


	10. Chapter 10

"Harry!" the excited voice of Hermione pierced his headache and he was vaguely aware of hands clasping his arms. He struggled to open his eyes, noticing a faint trickling going down the back of his neck.

The Weasleys, Hermione, Dumbledore, Lupin and Tonks were all squeezed into the small room, staring down at him with concern etched into their drawn, exhausted faces.

"What happened?" Dumbledore asked as Harry was helped to his feet and led over to the bed, where he sat obediently with a puzzled frown, one hand clamped over the lump on the back of his head.

"Alexa. I came in to see if there was anything I could do to help, but she just turned on me with all these horrible remarks. Something was happening to her but then she snapped out of it just like that. But she didn't go back to her normal self. Something outside somewhere was calling to her. She went into this trance. I tried to talk her out of it but she just pushed me away. Then that wall came out of nowhere."

Dumbledore thought for a moment, his face consumed with worry, "the horrible things she said, has she ever lapsed into this personality before?"

He nodded, "when she came round at Hogwarts. She was pretty normal but there was a nasty glint in her eyes. I thought it was just the poison spores, but it got worse over time until she almost attacked me. I knew it was what she wanted, but managed to talk myself out of it. That was the last time anything happened before just now."

"Has anyone else experienced Alexa's odd behaviour first hand?"

There was a mass shaking of heads around the room, apart from Ginny Weasley, whose eyes darted about as wide as if she was caught in headlights. She didn't want to acknowledge what had almost happened because then she would have to admit that it wasn't a dream she'd had. She also didn't want to break her word to Alexa.

Ginny remembered how scared Alexa had been when her evil feelings had disappeared and wanted to believe that it wasn't her will that was being corrupted. The Vampire was sick and they had to help her, not condemn her.

"Ginny?" Molly asked, "are you alright, dear?" She had seen her daughter's fear and was instantly concerned.

"I'm sorry," she cried, tears carving channels down her face, "Alexa went to attack me too!"

"What?" Dumbledore exclaimed in astonishment. He had never expected her cravings to have driven her so far.

Ginny nodded, "it's true, but it wasn't the Alexa we all know. It was as if something was controlling her, like a spell."

Harry shook his head, "but Alexa is impervious to enchantments. No spell has ever taken her by surprise before, she walks around with massive defensive shields around her to stop this from happening."

Remus Lupin cleared his throat, "blood magic might have an effect," he said, "Vampires are particularly susceptible to it because it has the ability to completely change their personality, but I thought the rites and rituals were lost centuries ago?"

Dumbledore's frown deepened, "everywhere except the Transylvanian Library of Past."

"Deatheaters attacked the settlements," Harry exclaimed, "they could have had another agenda besides murder."

"What does this mean?" Ginny cried, tears still dripping down her cheeks as her private horror became known.

"It means that you were right to believe in her innocence," Dumbledore said kindly, "it is safe to say that Voldemort has gained control of her for reasons we can only hope that she is aware of. But this creates a new problem. Alexa Flock is a formidable opponent under normal circumstances, but if evil has been awakened in her, we will need to be prepared for an onslaught that we may not beat. Our only hope is to find her and try and reaffirm her goodness. Until then, we have a problem."

Dumbledore turned and picked up the Field Map, still glowing on the floor and emitting its peaceful hum. He held it loosely in his palm and gazed unblinkingly into the swirling depths, his eyes flicking to and fro as if something had caught his attention.

"She must be possessed to have left the Map unguarded and still running," Tonks thought out loud as an expectant silence descended on the gathering.

"But what happens if we find her?" Hermione asked fearfully.

"We pray," Harry muttered downheartedly, "that she'll come back to us."

"That's all we can do," Remus added with what he thought was a supportive smile.

"Remus," Dumbledore addressed the werewolf abruptly, "take a look at this."

The old Headmaster handed the prism to the former Defence Professor, who scrutinised it carefully.

"There's atmospheric disturbances the likes of which I've never seen before!" Lupin exclaimed, tapping the crystal with his wand sharply to create a hologram that showed all present what he was seeing.

Harry gazed in awe at the swirling mist that could be mistaken for clouds on a satellite weather image. It was quite hypnotic, resembling what he had seen in Alexa's eyes before she had kissed him and broken her own spell on him.

The white mist gathered quite violently over an area of London, turning dense and grey as if shedding rain on the Earth.

"Where is that?" he asked, noticing the green epicentre and red pin-prick in the middle.

"Tonks, do you recognise it?" Lupin asked, and she leaned in over his shoulder for a better perspective.

She thought for a moment, "St. Paul's Cathedral," she answered, "it sounds ridiculous but that's the location. But this isn't the kind of portal that the Chimeras will come through. This is a serious disturbance in reality itself. We must be careful because this is unpredictable and could close around us if it became unstable."

"So if it isn't the Chimeras, what is it?" Harry asked.

"Probably the gateway to an alternate dimension," Tonks replied, Remus nodding in agreement beside her, "our atmosphere is too fragile for the Chimeras to come through straight away because they have too much evil power. There must be a stable channel made that doesn't fracture our reality. That would have cataclysmic repercussions. Channelling through from a parallel dimension would protect us from being tossed into nothingness. If that happened, there would be no reason for the Chimeras at all."

Harry groaned in exasperation, "so many portals and alternate dimensions. Is this going to get simple soon?"

Tonks grinned, "nothing worth fighting for is ever simple," she replied, "the simplest information I can give is that the party is at the Cathedral and we're missing it."

Dumbledore nodded, "I will despatch Fawkes to inform our allies about the whereabouts and we will all rendezvous at St. Paul's Cathedral."

"What about Alexa?" Harry asked, "she'll know that we're coming long before we arrive."

"Unfortunately we cannot do anything about that. Our main priority is stopping the Chimeras, no matter the cost, even if the price is the life of a valued friend. Alexa wouldn't want us to save her life at the sacrifice of everyone else. No one life is worth thousands."

Harry nodded regretfully and followed the rest of the Order out of the Grimmauld Place house.

As Mad-Eye summoned their broomsticks with a sharp bang of his staff on the pavement, Harry stole a final glance at his Godfather's ancestral home. He left no detail unseen, from the murky windows to the peeling wood pain.

The cobwebs in the crevices were almost sentimental and the greasy finger marks in the dust held so many memories, ones that he fixed in his mind as he kicked off from the ground, falling into formation beside two of Alexa's mysterious Aurors.

He wanted to remember the laughter, not the tears that had been shed behind closed doors, and he wanted to remember how easy the Summer had been compared to the events of late. If he was going to face his death, all he wanted to hold close to his heart was the good, not the bad.

The night air was heavy from cold as the brooms cut through the air, leaving the sleeping houses and illuminated streets far behind. The city centre and shopping malls were completely deserted, a barren wasteland. It almost appeared as though the Chimeras had already begun their work.

Every human was locked away, nestled safely in a warm bed and exactly where Harry wanted to be. Just for tonight, he wanted to be normal and turn away from the evil that he knew was coming, shut himself away in his perfect world, unseeing and uncaring. But he wasn't selfish. The Gryffindor in his heart longed for a battle and he couldn't help but feel excited, even though they were heading into the very jaws of Alexa's fury.

The sky was clear and black, the stars winking down at the travelling warriors. Everything looked alright in the world, when they were only an hour away from the ultimate Black Death plague.

"Millennium Wheel straight ahead!" Mad-Eye exclaimed as he led the charge, "mind the stanchions!"

The V-shaped formation contracted as the great spokes of the oversized Ferris wheel loomed. The Order passed through its mighty shadow, the magnificent dome of the iconic Cathedral appearing on the horizon and closing.

"There's the Vampires!" Harry exclaimed as they descended on the entrance that faced Ludgate Hill.

The main streets were deserted as they landed before Serenna and the Vampire Elders.

"A church," Serenna muttered disdainfully, her arms folded across her chest as she glared at the imposing house of religion, "what sick mind thought to raise the Chimeras in a church? Isn't it a contradiction?"

"You can take it up with your High Priestess, it was her idea!" Moody barked, his magical eye scrutinising the muscled, scantily dressed male warriors, their olive skin giving them a sun kissed appearance even in the artificial light. No one looked particularly battle-ready, especially not the un-dead.

"Then the prophecy is being fulfilled," Vladmiran muttered, his shoulders sagging with defeat, "hope is lost."

"Not when we have an hour before the raising," Dumbledore snapped, "she is under the influence of Voldemort, true enough, but she will come back. She has to."

"Then what of us?" one of the many Transylvanians asked, garbed like a General with great belts crossed down his torso with an all manner of sinister trophies adorning them, "we cannot enter a place that is a sacrament to God."

"Perimeter defence," Dumbledore said abruptly, "you hunt for Deatheaters. Do with them as you wish."

The Vampire's eyes shimmered with anticipation. He clenched his fist and struck his chest in a single gesture, bowing his head, "Pirosh, at your service."

He turned and addressed his fellows in their native, angry language and they immediately scattered with military precision and organisation.

As the Order of the Phoenix and the few Auror League operatives that had responded rushed passed the fenced-off statue of Queen Anne and began the ascent to the Cathedral entrance, the Vampires had disappeared into the darkness.

The beautiful building engulfed them, capturing them in a womb of religious spirit and love. But the peace and godliness of the shrine was corrupted by a presence that they could all sense. The musty air had an exotic energy interwoven that was alien.

The towering walls rejected the invader the same as it welcomed the Order, humming quietly as the powerful spirits demonstrated their displeasure.

Without uttering a word, Dumbledore motioned to Alastor Moody, who deployed his agents with simple hand gestures. The intricate curves and crevices of the Cathedral would amplify even a voice lowered to a whisper.

Harry stole a glance at what was happening to the sides of him. Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley and Alexa's Aurors divided into two groups, one taking the north aisle and the other the south. They crept stealthily behind the stands, keeping a constant watch for enemies, wands poised.

Dumbledore directed everyone else forwards down the centre, straight, true and sure.

Harry was unnerved by their lack of stealth and looked behind at Ron, Hermione and Ginny. Ron was trembling violently, his face even more pale than usual and sweat beading his forehead.

Hermione's eyes were wide and her nerves were on edge but her stride was confident and her grip on her wand was steady, an arsenal of spells flooding her mind.

Ginny's face was as dark as a thunderstorm, the almost-attack still weighing heavily on her mind, but she seemed calm and collected, if a little vengeful. Harry could feel her lust for a fight building with each passing moment.

As they neared the dome that served as the heart of the Cathedral's crucifix design, three dark figures came into view at the foot of the magnificent Apse.

For a moment, Harry was overwhelmed by its beauty. It was easily over ten feet high and embossed with gold, decorating the twisted pillars and columns that served as a frame for the holy altar, topped by a gold cross and tall candles.

Angels watched over them from above, leading the eye up to a marvellous ceiling, painted with the most intricate art ever seen in a church before.

The darkness of the eastern section sharply contrasted the light, welcoming air of the western entrance hall, reminding all who visited the Cathedral what an almighty force religion and faith was.

The three figures became clearer as they neared the opening of the dome, the curved walls forming a rotunda in the centre of the building. Two wore the silvery, skeletal masks of the Deatheaters, but the one in the middle had their back turned to them, kneeling penitent before God at the foot of the ornate Apse.

The Deatheaters flanking their mysterious General moved only to draw their wands, but did not attempt to engage the Order.

"Where's the portal?" Dumbledore demanded, his voice captured by the dome, which amplified it into an authoritative bellow, like God Himself was speaking.

A low laugh, like thunder cracking, split the air. The figure stood slowly and span around, the movement catching the folds of a great coat and fanning them out,

"You saw what we wanted you to see," Alexa Flock snarled venomously, her blonde hair scraped up behind her head save for two wisps of fringe that had escaped and that softened her hard, pinched features, "I fooled the stone into showing a portal here."

"Why?" Dumbledore shouted, wand clasped in his gaunt fist by his hip, tense as he realised their mistake.

"Now that would be telling," she replied with a childish giggle that resembled that of Delores Umbridge, "suffice to say, the Dark Lord thought it might spice things up a little."

"This isn't a game, Alexa! They've tricked you into joining them!"

"No, he freed me," she barked, taking a few slow, swaggering steps towards them, "all your talk about the greater good and fighting evil was just holding me back. I'm a Vampire! We don't help humans, we kill them!"

Harry rushed forwards, "you brought the Vampires here to help fight evil. Why would they do that if they only want to kill us?"

She fixed him with a malevolent stare, "children should learn to speak when spoken to," she barked and hit him with a non-verbal Stunning Spell that knocked him off his feet.

The Order protected him by flinging spells back in retaliation but none burned her, bouncing off her defensive shield.

Alexa repaid them by fixing them with a paralysis charm, her crimson eyes glowing and emanating their hypnotic waves.

"You can't defeat us," she whispered, passing through the Quire and pausing before the opening of the dome on the opposite side to the Order, "we are forever."

"Not when there's one person still willing to fight," Harry grunted, struggling passed bruised ribs and wind to get to his feet, momentarily wondering why he could move when no one else could.

"And are you that fool, Harry?" she asked with a playful smirk that oozed premature triumph, unperturbed by the fact that he was unaffected. In fact, she seemed amused.

He stood as straight and tall as he could manage, "yes."

"Then so be it."

Suddenly a column of green light exploded in his face, flinging him backwards where he smashed into the stands.

Through the agony that seared through his back, he glanced at his friends in search of help but they were all still paralysed.

He coughed up blood and struggled to his feet just as another spell hit him. The beam struck his wand instead of his flesh and the two opponents were locked together, Harry slowly sliding backwards across the black and white tiles.

"Alexa, stop!" he managed to shout, his voice choked from the strain of repelling the powerful spell.

"Not until you are dead!" she shrieked, forcing the energy from her body to strengthen her efforts.

Harry cried out as sparks and stray bolts escaped from the beam, burning his hands and scorching the walls as the power became too much. With a mighty crack, the beam imploded, emitting a pulse that knocked him and Alexa backwards and negated the spell that immobilised the Order.

In that instant, the war broke out in full force.

"Kill them!" Alexa shouted at the Deatheaters behind her as Dumbledore engaged her in battle.

The Cathedral, once in shadow, was suddenly alive with colour as the Order repelled the Deatheaters before being rained on with more enemy magic from above.

They retreated back from the dome, the children taking shelter behind the columns as their friends aimed their wands upwards to the galleries, overlooking the spherical heart.

"Harry!" Hermione shrieked and pointed as a stray spell ricocheted off the column inches from his face, the stone exploding in a hail of shards and dust.

He raised his head and watched as Alexa cut Dumbledore down, using a levitation charm to fling him away like a lifeless rag doll.

Then she turned her powers on the Weasley parents, who were consumed with their battle against Deatheaters in the galleries. Two Stunning Spells disposed of them and she turned her gleaming, mad eyes on their hiding place.

"You can't hide from me, Harry!" she shouted over the din, "come out and give me a goodbye kiss!"

One of her Aurors, a Jamaican woman known as Costa, leapt in her path. A few spells were exchanged but a final, accurate Killing Curse obliterated her former comrade, completely undermining any talent that she had possessed. For the moment, Alexa appeared to be unbeatable.

"Why do you insist on wasting my time?" her cold, emotionless voice exclaimed, getting closer with each passing second, "these feeble whelps are nothing compared to me. No one can match up to my power. I am unstoppable!"

It twisted Harry's heart to hear the level of her descent into darkness. It was as if a demon spirit had invaded her body, clawing possession away from the real Alexa. It spoke with her voice and manipulated her limbs, but it was not the woman he loved.

The thud of corpses on the tiles solidified his resolve and eventually he grasped his courage and stepped out of the column's shadow.

"You are very stoppable," he growled, "your confidence, your arrogance, your conceit undermine you."

"You presume to know me, little boy," she said with a lopsided grin, "yet you know nothing. Your parents wanted to get under my skin but I wouldn't let them. They tried to turn me into one of them, but I wouldn't. I was better. I am immortal. I have been stripped of the constraints of human life so that I can take exactly what I want. That silvery soul tastes sweeter when it is gone."

He detected the tiniest note of true emotion in her voice and wondered if she could be saved from damnation at the hands of evil,

"Then why are you allowing Voldemort to use you? If you are such a self-serving being, why aren't you stepping over the bodies of those who consider themselves better than you?"

Her eyes glittered hungrily, "how do you know that I won't?"

"Because he isn't dead yet, showing that you still value life no matter whose."

Alexa's triumphant, over-confident grin dissolved and her fingers twitched as a spell vibrated between her fingers, "life is expendable, a pointless waste on creatures who squander their potential. The beat of a heart is a disease for which I am the cure."

"Then what of your friends? People who you have admitted are acquaintances?"

"I will rip out your tongue and feed it to the dogs of Hell!" she shouted in fury, the concept of friends striking a sour note, "friends are a pox that weaken you until you are a weeping, feeling waste!"

Harry knew that he was breaking through the evil within her, "Alexa, everyone here loves you."

"Insolent pup!" she screamed and let her curse fly through the air, but Harry had read the language of her emotions and was prepared.

Like a professional tennis player, he batted the spell away with such force that she couldn't form a defence. The winding charm struck her squarely in the chest and knocked her to the floor, where she lay, panting and spent, "you'll pay," she gasped but made no effort to get up.

Instead, Harry beckoned to his friends who moved to stand beside him, forming a wall across the breadth of the Cathedral. The Weasley parents joined them, grazed and bruised from the overhead battle that was reaching its conclusion thanks to the stray contingent of the Order that were engaging the Deatheaters overhead. Alexa's Aurors also stood with them in solidarity.

"Alexa, this isn't you. Voldemort has violated you by making you what you aren't. There is darkness in you but you've never let it become a weakness before," Harry said as Dumbledore stirred from his unconscious state in the north Transept, "remember Sirius and my parents? They accepted all of what you are, just as we have."

"No, shut up!" she cried, her shoulders heaving with a well-concealed sob as she lay on the cold floor, her upper body supported on her arms.

"Alexa, we all love you."

"I'd rather kill you!"

Harry shook his head but never gave up, "then you'll have to. If it means dying for what I believe then I would gladly pay the price. Any one of us will."

Provoked by his admission, Alexa leapt up and pointed at him menacingly, "then prepare to meet the God that made you, Potter. I hope James and Lilly are waiting."

With that, she let fly the greatest barrage of spells that she had ever conjured, releasing the crackling balls of magic from her palms, one after the other.

Like grenades, they exploded metres from her opponents, sending a great plume of dust into the air that concealed her from view.

With a burst of Vampiric speed, she rushed into the mist and grabbed at Harry's throat, marvelling at the ease with which she caught him.

"Come into the light and take your final breath," she hissed and levitated both of them out of the plume. By the time someone dissolved the dust, the Boy Who Lived was in her dangerous grip.

Harry hung limply from her upward-stretched arm, his throat fitted neatly in her palm, and felt the air squeeze its way out of his body. He glanced down at her mad face, eyes wide with sadistic glee and her fangs bared.

Harry felt as much love for her in that moment as he had ever felt before, even if she was about to kill him. She had never before looked so terrifyingly lovely, her skin flawless and her lips as crimson as the blood in her veins. But there was enough evil remaining to dispose of him before her sense awakened.

He could feel the true essence of Alexa Flock returning, the good bullying the evil away, but he also knew that Dumbledore's wand was aimed, _Avada Kedavra_ playing on his lips.

"I knew you'd come back," he whispered as her fist tightened around his windpipe, closing his throat off forever. With a smile, he flicked his wand upwards to point right at her heart and whispered "_Finitus_."

His wand tip spilled a great, surging white light that engulfed Alexa, probing within her for Voldemort's influence.

She released him, consumed with surprise, and he fell to the floor, scuttling away to protect himself from the ferocity of the spell.

As she writhed, the air around her began to glow a brilliant, pure white before a black cloud exploded out of her chest with a piercing scream, the force of the reaction knocking her backwards.

For several minutes, no one moved. Silence descended on the Cathedral as the company waited with baited breath for their Auror to move.

Harry watched her motionless form unblinkingly, wondering if his spell had worked, and then she sat up, staring around at the onlookers with a confused frown furrowing her brow.

Carefully, she opened her mouth to speak, "why is everyone staring at me? Am I flashing something I shouldn't?"

In that instant, Harry knew that Alexa Flock was back from the brink. He walked over to her and helped her to her feet, "sorry," he mumbled, gesturing at the undecorated manner in which she had fallen.

"Don't you ever apologise," she said, giving him a friendly slap on the back, "for anything. I owe you a great debt. Thank you."

Harry shrugged modestly, "don't mention it," he said with a smile, "it's just good to have you back where you belong."

She nodded but was suddenly consumed with guilt, "Harry, those awful things that I said, especially about your parents. I didn't mean them."

"You mean you remember everything?"

She nodded, "I could hear what I was saying but couldn't stop it. I was trying to battle my way back this whole time but I was too lost in the darkness of that other personality. But you showed me the way out. I'm incredibly grateful."

"I know."

Alexa knew that she had much to atone for, and Harry's mind was still consumed with questions, as was everyone's. Voldemort had risked a great deal by turning her and her return to goodness had seriously flawed his plans, that much she knew.

"Why didn't your paralysis spell work on me?" Harry asked as the Order cleared up the mess that their battle had made.

"I knew that something bad was happening to me, something that had gotten stronger ever since I was found in the forest after the ambush. I needed someone who I could trust and who believe in me whole-heartedly, someone who would help me battle my way back."

Realisation dawned like morning glory, "that was why you kissed me," he replied, thinking out loud.

Alexa nodded, "in kissing you, I made you immune to my hypnotic powers. I needed someone in control of their mind to fight me mentally. You proved how strong you are tonight. Evellis will be lucky to have an Auror like you on their honour roll."

They rejoined the Order, everyone pleased that their Auror had returned from the brink of annihilation, and she embarked on her rushed apologies, knowing that there would never be a better time.

Ginny Weasley still kept her distance but accepted the Vampire's sincerest apologies generously nevertheless.

"It's just nice to have you back," Ginny said as Dumbledore stole her attention away.

"Alexa, where is Voldemort planning to raise the Chimeras?" he demanded, "we have only fifteen minutes to find and stop him."

"We only need one," she said and ran outside, her fellows close behind, "when he was in the Library of Past, he happened upon the final half of the ceremony and learned that the Chimeras had to be raised in an alternate dimension, otherwise reality itself would implode. That's where he is."

"But how do we get there?" Harry asked, but received no answer as they charged down the steps outside and hurried back to the Vampires.

The Elders, Serenna and their people all appeared seemingly out of the air itself when they saw their High Priestess coming. The streets were free from carnage, the un-dead having cleared their victims out of sight and so concealed their late-night war.

"Gather around tight!" Alexa exclaimed without explanation and began mumbling a spell in some long-forgotten tongue that even Dumbledore was ignorant of.

Harry, sandwiched between Hermione and Pirosh, the Transylvanian Vampire General, while Ron was lost in the packed crowd, was suddenly aware of a dragging sensation as if he was being pulled into the centre of the group against his will.

Hermione felt it too, for her eyes were large and scared, but no one spoke besides Alexa, still chanting loudly.

A beating wind picked up and began to swirl about them, the floor seeming to fall completely away into nothing, leaving them suspended over a black hole ready to drop.

"_Virash_!" Alexa shouted and Harry let out a yell as they suddenly fell through the ground itself into a tunnel that twisted and bent around them, manipulating light into incoherent shapes and images.

Still they continued their descent, as if falling through the Earth's belly, until a tiny pin-prick of light appeared below them. The speck grew larger and larger before they were swallowed by it, landing hard on solid land in a place that contained nothing but black mist.

The light faded and it looked as if they were standing in the heart of a storm cloud, the air crackling around them.

"Where are we?" Harry asked with a frown, his words echoing on unseen walls.

"The Dark Heart," Alexa replied, "the mouth of Hell itself."

"The channel through which the Chimeras will pass into our reality," Vladmiran said, his voice having lost its commanding bellow.

"This is where it will happen?" Harry continued, looking around at the passing mist. It moved in no particular manner, the air was free from breeze or wind. It was like a vacuum where time itself seemed to stand still.

But in the distance they saw a group circled around a figure in the middle. They moved towards it, unsure if it was a trick of the mist.

"It's begun," Alexa muttered and the Deatheaters turned to look at the intruders, the circle breaking so that the grey, snake-like face of Lord Voldemort was visible, towering over a bundle of black at his feet.

In his hand he held a glittering knife that shimmered with blood, staining his fingers red.

Without requiring a command from their leader, the Vampires surged forwards and overwhelmed the Deatheaters both in strength and number, eager to dispose of their enemies with the same ferocity that the Deatheaters had shown when attacking their settlements.

Voldemort remained unperturbed and merely ignored the plight of his mindless disciples, turning and placing his hand over something concealed by the mist.

"_Invardavous_!" Alexa screamed, her spell slicing through the air and knocking the bloodied hand away.

The Dark Lord turned and grinned through the chaos, "you cannot stop it," he growled, indicating the bundle on the ground.

Harry looked closer and saw three very familiar faces.

"I won't allow you to destroy the Earth for your own gain," Alexa replied, "no one will win if the portal is opened."

Voldemort laughed, the great peels splitting Harry's scar in two, "it is too late! Drawing the symbol with the blood of those closest will unleash Hell!"

"Those creatures aren't of Hell, they're of something much worse. Hell still has mercy. The Mahtor does not."

"Then the world will know my name after tonight. My name will be everyone's dying breath and power will be mine. I will reshape the world in my image."

Alexa shook her head, "not while I have breath left in me," she said and surged through the air with terrific speed, knocking the Dark Lord to the ground amidst his dead.

Then she saw what Harry had; Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix LeStrange and the ever faithful Wormtail lying dead on the ground, a bloody smile sliced into their throats. The looks of astonishment on their faces showed that even they hadn't seen what was coming.

"You killed them?" Alexa gasped, "your own?"

Voldemort let out a hissing laugh as he got to his feet, "I would kill all of my own if it meant ultimate power. By tomorrow I will have what I crave and no one alive will resist me."

"No one will be alive!" Alexa cried in anguish.

"You will," the Dark Lord replied and flicked his bone-white wand, trapping her in an impenetrable bubble, "you will live on when everyone you love is gone. I need you alive to achieve my goals."

He turned and swept back to a precise place in the mist, his blood-stained hand raised as if to strike.

Harry ran over to Alexa, a captive to the evil Lord once again. Ignoring Voldemort, he tried to free her but the green haze engulfing her was like a diamond tomb.

"You may as well stop and save you energy, Harry," Voldemort called, taunting him, "nothing can stop me."

"I can't let you do that, Tom," the voice of Dumbledore said, the old man stepping over the bodies in his path as the Vampires lost themselves in the thrill of their battle.

"What are you going to do, old man?" he jeered, "this is meant to be. The scourge will purge the world of all who are unworthy and there is nothing you can do."

With that he carved an 'M' in the mist, beginning the opening of the portal.

Just as Dumbledore began to conjure a spell, the Earth quaked and groaned about them, knocking them all off their feet. In the commotion, Voldemort added a flowing 'S' to the wall.

Thunder and lightning sounded, the wind growing in velocity. The air became dense as the long, gnarled finger drew a diagonal arrow across the 'M', completing the symbol.

"It is done," he announced, a great bellowing _bang_ echoing from nowhere that could be seen.

In fear, Harry looked at Alexa, who had collapsed to her knees in her spherical prison, her face anguished and completely devastated.

The deformed Tom Riddle howled with manic laughter as a red crack split the symbol down the centre, parting the bloody mark as if two great doors were opening.

The red portal opened, revealing a crackling, swirling tunnel that channelled a great gale towards them, one so powerful that it almost knocked them off their feet.

A black area appeared in the far centre of the tunnel and grew steadily bigger. The Chimeras were coming.

"Let's go!" Vladmiran hollered over the thundering growls that escaped the portal, "we must fight from the outside!"

Without pausing, the ancient Chieftan whirled round and led the charge back to the site of Alexa's spell and vanished, her channel carrying them back to Ludgate Hill.

While everyone fled, Harry stood transfixed as their failure was realised. Voldemort stood at the mouth of the portal, ready to welcome his reinforcements, a great grin spread across his deformed face.

Hurrying over to the bubble, he pounded his fists against the green surface while she tried an all manner of spells to break through the shell. A combination of magic managed to punch a hole in its wall and she somersaulted out before it closed again, standing motionless facing the portal.

"Come on!" Harry yelled over the noise, grabbing her hand and trying to pull her away but she was mesmerised, "Alexa, we have to get out of here!"

An almost serene expression descended on her as she watched the harbingers of death grow closer, their journey half over.

"I've never appreciated the beauty of our world before," she said with a contented smile, "the way the sun rises and sets in rainbows of colour, the way the stars glitter at us from above as they watch over us. Even the way a seed becomes a great tree over a few Springs. So much magic in the world and only a few know how to use it."

"Alexa, what are you doing? We need to go," Harry cried, tugging at her hand.

"I wish I could sit and watch the world in all its glory," she said, "it is so peaceful."

Harry grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face him, "the Chimeras are coming!" he yelled, giving her a shake to try and make her realise the danger.

"I know, and I must stop it."

"You can't, the portal is open!"

She smiled, "your parents would be proud of you."

A cold feeling gripped his heart. Something in her eyes told him what had to be done, "what's going on?"

"I need you to do one last favour for me," she said, fixing him in a stare.

"Anything," he replied, anxious to convince her to leave, "name it." Something told him that he would regret agreeing.

Her smile never wavered as she placed something in his hand, closing his fingers around it. He looked first at her and then at the wooden stake.

"What...?" he stuttered, staring at her in horror.

"It's the only way to stop this," she replied, as calm and collected as ever, "I told you the history of the Bloodbath. You've known what must be done for a long time."

Harry shook his head and threw the stake down, "I won't kill you!" he bellowed.

"You must."

He looked from the stake to her peaceful face and marvelled at her bravery. But he couldn't bring himself to obliterate the life that had brought him so much laughter, joy and heartfelt pain.

She could see how torn in two he was, and bent to retrieve the stake, "Harry, there is no one left for me in this world. My family is long dead and Sirius is gone. I am alone and I am tired. Please."

He shook his head again, "I need you," he whispered, tears dripping down his cheeks.

"You've never needed me Harry. It is I who always needed you. You gave me reason again and made my world brighter. It is you who have shown me the true nature of humanity, even in the face of the sickest evil you believe in the forces of good. You saved me when Voldemort made me a slave and I will always be grateful to you for believing."

"But there must be another way?"

"Once the portal is opened, only the death of the High will close it. That is why Voldemort needed me alive, even evil. He learned of the history in Transylvania when he found the other half of the ritual and realised my significance. I was easier for him to control when evil."

"I can't kill you," Harry gasped as she held the stake out again.

"I will always watch over you, Harry Potter," she answered, as if that alone would convince him to do what he knew that he must.

Alexa Flock gripped the stake tight in her fist and smiled with such beauty that he could barely bring himself to look at her.

"Why does everyone I love always leave me?" he asked in a voice choked with tears.

She went to stroke his cheek but he caught her hand and held it tight to his face, revelling in the sweet warmth of her touch and imprinting it on his mind's eye forever.

"The ones we love never really leave us," she said, tilting his jaw upwards so that she could look into his eyes and remember his undying affection, "but I did save you once, now I need you to save me. Free me from this painful existence so that I can be amongst my family again."

Alexa held the stake out again and Harry took it with a strangled sob, "I'll never be able to live with myself," he mumbled, staring down at the ugly weapon that had been carved out of an old table leg.

"Yes you will," she said and embraced him, stroking his hair and allowing him this final happy memory, "you will stay strong, like you always do."

"But without you..."

"Life will go on," she interrupted, "as it must."

His shoulders tensed as he forced himself to let her go, placing a delicate, lingering kiss on her cheek. All he wished for was to remain in her arms forever but she depended on him to do this final favour, and as hard as it was to consider life without her in it, he knew it would be selfish to refuse. Her death was all that would seal the Chimeras away, without that the world would be destroyed. He nodded once and held the stake tight.

"_Bind this body in death as it was in life_," she said, her hands glowing with pink magical energy as she sealed her fate, "_let not the fires of Hell consume_."

"No!" the devil voice of Voldemort yelled, realising their plans. With lightning reflexes, he sent an arsenal of spells their way, Alexa blocking them effortlessly, "you will not interfere!"

"_From this wooden off'ring let light spill out_," she cried, fighting to block his powerful assaults so that Harry could do his final duty.

He tried to intervene but an energy pulse flung him backwards, stunned and bruised.

"I will not let her die, boy!" the Dark Lord shrieked, just about to cast the Imperius Curse as he lay helpless.

"_Cruccio_!" Alexa screamed, "_Levitus Maxima_!" The gaunt creature floated off the ground and writhed as the Torture Curse tore through his body, "_From this wooden off'ring let light spill out and hold the world in its hope_."

The pink aura spread around her body as her incantation neared completion, but Voldemort negated her combination spell and pointed his wand at Harry, the tip glowing green.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" he yelled, the emerald curse streaking towards his opponent.

"No!" Alexa yelled, her reactions slowed by her distraction with the spell.

She was powerless to do anything as the curse wrapped around his body, stabbing his heart with its daggers of death. But Harry's eyes remained open, life's spark still occupying his body.

Voldemort was astonished as he stared at the boy who should have died in that moment.

Harry grinned as a look of pride spread across Alexa's face, "put your faith in your heart, right?" he asked, remembering her lessons from the previous year.

"I've taught you all I can," she said, "_from throes of sacrifice let love spill out..._"

But the evil one was unwilling to admit defeat when the Chimeras were so close. He could smell the decaying skin and rotting breath surging out of the portal. All he had to do was delay Alexa a few moments. One more line and her spell would be finished.

He rushed forwards and grabbed her arms, holding them apart, "you will not ruin my plans," he snarled, saliva dripping from his pointed teeth, "the Chimeras will bring the ruination of our race. Ultimate power will be mine!"

"Not when I'm still around," she replied and struggled against his superhuman strength, managing to place her palms on his face, "_flamosa_," she whispered, scorching heat burning his translucent flesh.

He gave a blood curdling scream and released his hold on her arms, allowing her time to give him a swift kick in the solar plexus.

Looking at Harry, the amethyst light reached her eyes, "_from throes of sacrifice let love spill out, and save humanity's soul_."

Harry recovered his composure and looked at the portal. In the midst of the black bodies, a scaled tail flicked by the portal boundaries, a metallic mace sprouting out of the tip.

Demonic specks of red light shone from the cloud, the eyes seeking out the world that had been opened up to them.

"_Do it now_!" Alexa yelled and turned her whole body to face him, her eyes wide with urgency.

It was now or never.

Harry hurried over, holding the stake ready to strike, "I love you," he whispered, faltering now that the crucial moment was upon him. But it was only for a moment.

With a yell of pain and devastation, he thrust the sharp point through her chest with a hollow thump, leaving it to rest in the left atrium of her heart.

She stood motionless for a moment, a deeply peaceful sleep sweeping across her face. Her dying body began to fall backwards but he caught her arms and pulled her to rest against his chest. Her eyes fought to remain open, taking in the final wonders of life before it was lost forever.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, loathing the feeling of the wooden stake protruding from her chest. He could feel her heart slowing as he cradled her.

She tried to shake her head, her lips reluctantly parting into a smile, "thank...you," she whispered, her eyes closing for the last time.

Harry tried not to be upset as he felt her last, shuddering breath against his skin but the tears fell of their own accord. Her body went limp and heavy as her soul travelled on its final journey. The weight stripped his legs of strength and he sagged onto the floor, never relinquishing his hold on her.

He heard Voldemort's yells of fury but didn't turn his face to watch the portal close, nor did he see a maggot-eaten hand reach out and claw at human air before being sucked back into the prison dimension. To Harry, their success was meaningless compared with the loss of Alexa.

He stared at her face, wanting to immortalise her final moments forever as his tears dripped onto her pale skin. More than anything, he wanted to die with her.

Through the agony, Harry felt a hand rest on his shoulder, "Harry, she's gone," Albus Dumbledore muttered, his own voice cracked with emotion, "let her go."

Vladmiran and the other Elders approached and attempted to relieve him of her, but Dumbledore stopped them with a single raised hand. He kneeled down beside his student and waited for a break in the boy's tears.

"She knew all along, didn't she?" he said, saliva clogging his throat, his nose blocked from his silent tears.

His mentor nodded, "since Transylvania, but I assume that she had a little prior knowledge."

"What about you?"

"No, Harry. I didn't know."

Harry allowed his friends to lead him home, the Vampires managing to gain possession of her for the night, but only when they had agreed to the Order's request to permit her a Hogwarts funeral.

"She was greatly loved by the staff and students," Dumbledore had appealed to the Elders, "they all deserve the chance to bid her a final farewell."

The ancient Vampires had reluctantly agreed and had left Grimmauld Place to make the preparations. But even though the house contained more people than it could hold, it felt barren, empty and desolate. No one uttered a word, the only sound being the ticking from the old clock. Harry Potter had never known silence to be so noisy.

With the threat of the Chimeras gone, the Transylvanians had showed their respects and left. The death of a British High Priestess mattered very little to them when they had their own clans to resettle.

But there was enough remorse shown to make up for the absence of theirs. Tonks and the League Aurors could not cease their tears, Molly Weasley spent most of her time consoling Hermione and Ginny, while Serenna was like a gargoyle in the doorway, keeping a silent vigil.

Harry's tears dried in his eyes as he stole into the bedroom where she had last been. He could still smell her subtle perfume in the air and the sheets were rumpled from where she had laid. His better judgement told him to erase all traces of her, but he couldn't bring himself to tidy the mess so soon.

He clasped his hands behind his back and leaned against the door, unable to look at his clear fingers without seeing her blood contaminating them. She had barely bled at all from the blow that had claimed her, but all Harry could see was crimson rivulets wherever he turned.

He perched carefully on the bed and tried to recall their passionate moment, but found his memories failing him. A misty haze obscured them, while everything else was clear. Tears flowed afresh as he sank onto the pillow of her bed. He was forgetting her already.


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning was rainy and threatened thunderstorms. The Daily Prophet had rushed a special tribute in Alexa's memory, a black and white image of her emblazoned across the front page, beneath the headline '_Alexa Flock dead_'.

It was abrupt and insensitive, but the dedication was compassionate and moving. Even Cornelius Fudge had said a sizeable amount about the '_tragedy that has shook the world_'. He said the right things and was gracious in his praise, but Harry knew it was all a facade.

Alexa would call it an outstanding example of public relations. She would have laughed into her cereal bowl at the pompous twit and how he gushed about his '_total and utter devastation_' at her untimely death.

The circumstances of her demise were hushed, the only fact being that she died on Christmas Day. Harry tried to smile at the irony.

The holiday season passed in a blur of tears, presents exchanged sombrely and without the normal gusto, then it was time to return to Hogwarts. Dumbledore had arranged for the service to be held the night of their return, and it was a fitting honour.

The whole castle was decorated in white and black, a specific wish from the departed. Her coffin bore the crest of the Vampiric High Priestess, her noblest honour, and even though her heritage was now publically known, the whole of Hogwarts halted for the funeral. Even classes were suspended for the first week of the new term to allow the students and staff to grieve without interference.

"Alexa Flock was the greatest witch ever to pass through Hogwarts. She had lost her family at such a young age that we thought she would be scarred, but there was an innate strength about her that compelled her to fight on, which she did even in the face of adversity," Dumbledore said as he choked back tears, stood at a podium in front of her coffin.

It was difficult for him to look at the hundreds of people that had gathered for the service, knowing that every life before him carried on because she had given up hers.

"Her Vampire heritage led to prejudice and discrimination, something she valiantly fought against her whole life. She came back to the school last year as a great, powerful woman whose opinion could lead the Ministry in any direction, and here she proved herself as a teacher in the field to which she had dedicated her life.

"Alexa was loved by all who came into contact with her, attracted by her passion and energy. She was a generous woman who secretly remembered long-endured cruelty, but she never forgot where she came from. Even when people turned against her, she fought for freedom and gave her life to the war. Now she will be remembered as one of our greatest casualties.

"So, I implore you all to remember her for what she was - someone who did the best she could in the time the Lord allotted. Do not condemn her because of what she was, but remember her with love and affection. Her spirit will always be with those at Hogwarts, the only place she used to call home. Let her finally rest in peace and may her legacy live on."

The gathering stood and applauded as Albus turned and lay a single white lilly on the coffin resting elegantly on an ornate table.

It was still difficult to believe that she was gone, even more so when the crowd dissipated back into the castle and the Elders began to move the coffin. The Vampire clans had accepted the need for a human service but only provided she would be returned to them immediately.

"Thank you, Harry Potter, for everything," Vladmiran growled as Samel, Nikol and Borsun carried the coffin away. The centuries old Vampire patted his shoulder, "it is because of you that our battle was victorious."

"Only because I killed her," he mumbled, unable to tear his eyes away from the coffin.

"It was an act of love," Vladmiran said, "only that would close the portal. She will be sorely missed, but her death was necessary."

"Why did it have to be her?"

"Because she was the High Priestess. They have responsibilities that stretch far beyond the boundaries of life and death. Alexa Flock was a rarity. A living Vampire. Where a Vampire soul is taken, hers will live on and will continue to be a comfort to all she left behind."

"Living?" Harry asked, "so she wasn't a true Vampire?"

Vladmiran smiled warmly, "she was so much better. Where normal Vampires are sired by another, Alexa was born one, an incredible event. We cannot explain it and no longer want to. We will just remember her for the rest of time."

With that, he turned and followed the un-dead procession away from the castle, taking her to her final resting place.

Harry watched him go, his elegant robes flowing around his feet and giving the illusion of levitation. He took in the icy presence of the Vampires, realising that this was probably his final encounter with them. The fact troubled him and filled his heart with more sadness. He wanted to keep them around for longer, wanting to learn as much as he could so that something of Alexa's life was still with him. But their priority was laying their dead to rest and nothing could deter them.

"Farewell, boy," Serenna addressed him with her patented sternness, giving him an affectionate thump on the shoulder, "don't let guilt eat away at your soul. It is not what she would have wanted, and it is the way of the weak."

She permitted him a small grimace, that he interpreted as a smile and turned to leave without a backward glance. He knew that he would miss her no-nonsense brutality more than he would miss the Elders.

Dumbledore had chosen a beautiful day for the funeral. The sky was blue, the air fresh and birds fluttered through the still air, filling the world with their tuneful melodies. It was a day that she would have loved, everything seemingly peaceful with the world. Immediate evil was neutralised, the Ministry could sit back and rest, and Hogwarts itself was a safe haven again.

Alexa Flock would have revelled in the tranquil energies of the day, but all Harry could see was her face frozen in death. She had haunted his nightmares for weeks, seeking vengeance for her murder like a zombie in search of his destruction.

Harry desperately wanted to believe that her soul had found peace, but her confessions the previous year still plagued him. She was a dual force, her Siren side being fundamentally good but sinisterly spellbinding, luring men to their doom, while her Vampiric roots were seen as the epitome of evil. There was no guarantee that she would find her salvation at the feet of the great Father. He just prayed every day and night that her conscious sacrifice for the good of mankind would lead her to the gates of St. Peter. It sickened him to think that the doorway to heaven could be locked and barred against her, meaning she could never be reunited with Sirius.

Harry prayed also for forgiveness for both her soul and his. Alexa had made him a murderer. Every time he looked at his hands, all he could see was the wooden stake clutched in his fist.

"Harry, are you coming inside?" Hermione asked with a shiver. The January weather was chilly despite the glorious sunshine.

He couldn't bring himself to reply. Since Christmas Day, a lump had appeared in his throat, one that was choking him. He'd cried himself sick the day of her death but now it was as if his tears had dried up forever. He didn't know what he wanted anymore. Life had lost its purpose and everything felt unfinished. His feelings for Alexa carried on, even in death, but he had reached a wall. She had been his only direct tie to his family and now he felt completely alone, as if he no longer belonged anywhere.

"It's getting late, Harry," Ginny said over his left shoulder, "it's over."

"No, it'll never be over," he replied, his voice dry and cracked, "not until she's avenged."

Hermione frowned, "Harry, she wanted to go. It was her time."

"If Voldemort hadn't brought the Chimeras here, she would still be alive."

"You can't just go after You-Know-Who," Ginny protested, "it would be suicide."

He shrugged, "I don't care. I have nothing else," he replied in a coldly calm voice, "he took her away from me."

Hermione sniffed, "she isn't really gone, she's just moved on to a different world."

"You don't understand, I keep expecting her to sit down right beside you. I keep expecting to see her at the teachers' dining table. But she's gone, and all I want is to bring her back!"

Suddenly the lump in his throat exploded and his eyes welled up with tears. He let out a great, emotionally charged cry and they fell in great streams down his cheeks, unrelenting. He felt the girls embrace him both at the same time, united in their loss.

"I loved her and I killed her," he cried in anguish, "now I just want her back."

"We all do," Hermione whispered, "we all miss her."

"But she's watching us, wherever she is," Ginny said, "she wouldn't want you to be like this forever."

"I'll be OK when she walks through those gates," he said, gesturing to the main gates beyond the forest, "I'll be OK when she walks through the front door at Grimmauld Place for another Order meeting. But she can't do any of those things because I killed her!"

"It isn't your fault!" Hermione exclaimed, "it isn't!"

"Then why do I feel like it is?" he asked, his eyes red and sticky, his throat sore.

"Harry, it was a favour," she protested, "you loved her and she knew that. That's why it had to be you. Now you just have to find some peace."

"I can't. I keep seeing it," he sobbed as Hermione and Ginny took him by the arms and pulled him gently to his feet. He was as cold as the first night of Winter and shivering as they led him away from the mass of chairs that were left from the funeral.

"Harry, you'll make yourself crazy," Ginny said, supporting his lethargic weight with difficulty.

But he couldn't get Alexa's death out of his mind. It was so easy for everyone to tell him to let go but it was much harder in practise. He didn't want to let her go because he didn't want to admit to himself that she was gone forever. He knew that he'd have to someday, but everything was just too raw.

Her funeral had given him time to contemplate the permanence of her death, but then he pictured her lying dead in his arms, her skin growing cold and the wooden stake protruding from her chest. Her hair had lost its lustre, her clothes no longer accentuating her curves but hanging shapelessly. He couldn't pretend that she was merely sleeping anymore. She looked so peaceful that it was easy to fool himself into thinking that her chest still heaved as her lungs filled, her heart still beat and life still inhabited her body.

"You go on ahead," Harry said, shrugging them off, "save me a plate and I'll be there in a minute."

They both frowned at him and exchanged a glance, "are you sure you'll be alright?" Ginny asked.

Harry managed a wan smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "I'm a big boy," he said, "I'll be fine."

The girls reluctantly nodded and carried on into the Great Hall, where there was a great banquet in Alexa's honour.

Instead, Harry lingered in the doorway and looked out into the beautiful landscape surrounding the castle. Looking into the churning skies and how the sun channelled its way through the clouds in columns of light, he leaned against the oak door frame, never feeling so peaceful.

As he watched the candyfloss clouds slip by, the dead face of his love blinked into the forefront of his mind, but instead of clinging on to the bittersweet memory, he transmuted it into the face that had smiled at him during their first private tutorial last year, and the eyes that had glittered during Christmas at the Burrow.

The heart that had felt so cold in his chest of late shivered as warmth infused it. He could feel her power surrounding him, filling the walls and the sky and the earth, neutralising his grief and sorrow so that all that remained was a sad kind of happiness. Harry allowed it to fill him up, energising the body that he thought was dead and buried with Alexa.

Now he was beginning to see the world in all its glory, as if something of Alexa was still alive in Hogwarts, awakening his senses and allowing him to live again.

Harry looked up at the sky and could almost see her smiling face etched in the clouds, lingering just long enough to wink cheekily before passing over.

He caught himself smiling and turned to go back into the castle, hesitating only for a moment. Somehow, he knew that everything was going to be alright.

"Goodbye, Alexa," he muttered with a smile and headed back into the warmth.


	12. Chapter 12

--

As the sun disappeared below the distant Transylvanian horizon, a fierce wind tore across the shadowed valley towards a pale orange glow that shone bright from a clearing in the trees. Voices raised in chorus penetrated the night air as people danced around a circle of fire.

In the very centre of the intense heat stood a single man, his Vampiric fangs gleaming in the fiery light. At his waist hung a leather medicine pouch from which he took a handful of ingredients.

"Let what was taken from us be returned to us this night!" he cried, his accent thick with a Romanian lilt.

With a gesture of finality, the shaman threw the ingredients into the air, the glittering dust settling on the scorched earth around him. The quiet lull of chanting voices fuelled his ancient incantation.

The shaman felt himself infused with vampiric energy as he detected a wandering soul in the air, a soul that itself was built of power and strength. Its personality was tremendous, so much so that it almost overwhelmed his essence completely.

With his eyes glowing as red as the very base of the fire, he projected the spirit into the mound of earth at his feet, "rise, rise, rise again," he cried, "rise, rise, rise!"

As if in answer to his command, lightning above streaked across the black sky and the ground itself began to quake as the chanting grew louder and louder until the voices drowned out the electrical storm that was brewing overhead. The velocity of the wind grew until it was so strong that it almost uprooted the trees that provided little shelter from the elements, but still the fire burned, relentless. The atmosphere was alive with magic as everyone directed their energy into the circle.

With one final clap of thunder and burst of electricity, the mound of earth that marked a grave split in two as a single hand reached for the sky. From the depths of the dark pit that had given birth to new life, shone two piercing red eyes.

In that instant, the storm, fire and chanting died out of respect for the Reborn and rain began to fall from the skies above, cleansing the earth in preparation for the Coming.

As the water cascaded down, the Reborn emerged...


End file.
